Dancing Spirits
by phillygirl91
Summary: <html><head></head>Kou's name means peace and was given to her by the monks that raised her in the Village Hidden at the Gate. She is the ninja world's Spirit Guardian and must master the kekkei genkai passed down by her ancestors in order to bring peace and balance</html>
1. Chapter 1

Kou is my OC, but I promise she will not be some Godlike ninja that is all powerful. She will have flaws and weaknesses just like everybody else. This chapter is a quick preview and has interaction between Kou and Sasuke, and I also promise that I've read many OC/Sasuke stories and this one will be different. I hope you all like this story and wil review!

Don't own Naruto

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><p>Dancing Spirits<p>

Kou held her mother's hand as they walked through the Leaf Village's busy streets. She was five years old with black hair tied into two buns low on her head. Her eyes were a sky blue color that shined against the sun. She looked around interested in everything going on around her. Her village was nothing like this, instead of monks walking around there were regular people, ninjas, boys and girls.

Kou was the only girl, besides her mother, in her village… if you could even call it one. The monastery where she had been born was big enough to house hundreds of monks and monks in training, but they were all boys.

As Kou continued to watch the hustle and bustle around her, she quickly saw that her mother was leading her away from the heart of the village.

"Mommy where are we going?" she asked.

"We're going to meet a good friend of mine, my dear," answered her mother Miya. "You'll like her; she has a son just your age."

Kou wasn't _that_ excited. There were plenty of boys to play with back at the monastery. She got along just fine with them and could hold her own when they had fights, but she longed for another girl to play with. She sighed in irritation.

"Kou I know it hasn't been easy for you at the Gate Village, but I thought a visit to my home would be good for us both," said her mother. "Mikoto and her son Sasuke are great, and I'm sure you two will be great friends. After all Mikoto has been my best friend since we went to the ninja academy."

"When do I get to be a ninja?" whined Kou.

"Soon my dear, but you have to get a little bigger," smiled Miya.

Kou took her hand from her mothers and crossed her arms pouting. "All the monks do is chant and pray all day. They make me be quiet all the time. There's nothing to do at the temple, and it's no fun. I want to be a ninja and do whatever I want!"

Her mother chuckled at her daughter's antics. Kou was a stubborn little thing, but that stubbornness would be a good trait once her training started.

"Kou stop this nonsense. It's not very ninja like," said Miya smirking a little on the inside as she tried to remain stern towards her daughter.

They continued the rest of their walk to a large field with many hills. Mikoto and Sasuke were standing at the top of one of the hills. Mikoto caught sight of Miya and yelled her name. The two women ran towards each other and hugged. It had been a long time since they had last seen one another, five years to be exact. They exchanged some chatter and then looked at their children and began to make introductions.

"Sasuke this is my best friend Miya and her daughter Kou," said Mikoto happily. Sasuke simple nodded as he slightly hid behind his mother's leg. He wasn't afraid just shy.

"Kou say hi to Sasuke," insisted Miya. Kou stared at the boy in front of her. He seemed timid unlike all the boys back at the temple.

"Hi Sasuke I'm Kou I'm going to be the most awesome ninja ever!" bragged Kou. She quickly erased her smile when her mother gave her a glare.

Sasuke jumped from behind his mother, "Na-Uh I am! I'm an Uchiha which means I will be the greatest ninja!"

Mikoto and Miya quickly intervened between the two. After some coaxing and bargaining the two women sat on top of the hill talking as Sasuke and Kou began to play. They eventually forgot the small scuffle they had and found that they were not so different.

"My father always talks about my brother. My father loves him more than me cause he's such an amazing ninja," said Sasuke as they played in a sand box they had found.

"I think that's sad you seem nice to me, but I bet your father loves you. I don't have any brothers or sisters, just the mean temple boys at the monastery. They're not even monks and they act like they're better than ma," replied Kou. "Your brother sounds like he loves you though; you said he plays with you."

"He gets busy sometimes, and has to go away a lot. He tells me 'Maybe next time Sasuke' and pokes my forehead." Sasuke pointed to his forehead and frowned. Kou began to laugh.

"My mommy does that sometimes. She's a ninja and does things for the monks, but she was born here. Sometimes I see her crying I think she misses her home," said Kou also beginning to frown.

The two continued to play and talk. After a while Miya and Mikoto came down the hill and gathered their children. Everyone said their good byes and began to head in different directions.

"Did you have fun with Sasuke?" asked Miya to her daughter.

"Yeah he was lots of fun, he's my best friend!" replied Kou.

"I'm glad my dear. Listen the next couple of days I'm going to drop you off at Sasuke and Mikoto's house," said Miya with some sadness. She seemed in deep thought looking at the ground.

"Mommy what's wrong?"

"Nothing Kou I just want you to have fun while I take care of some boring grownup things. We're going to be here for a few weeks."

"Yay!" yelled Kou excitedly, forgetting her earlier question.

For the next two weeks Kou would play with Sasuke at the Uchiha house. The two would play ninja, sometimes getting too rough. Mikoto had to occasionally separate them and bandage a scrape here or there. They had grown close and found it difficult to depart when Kou and her mother returned to the temple.

"We'll be back soon Kou I promise," said Miya as she and her daughter walk out the Konoha gates. Sasuke and his mother were at the entrance waving good bye.

"I know, I just will miss Sasuke," replied Kou sadly.

Miya smiled at her daughter and continued walking on. The travel was normally a day for ninjas, but because Kou was too small it took much longer to walk back to the temple.

Kou and Miya returned to Konoha for two week periods, twice a year. Kou would always go to Sasuke's to play while her mother was away. Every time they returned to the Leaf Village Miya seemed to be gone for longer periods of time, and returned to fetch her daughter looking tired. She had also been losing a lot of weight. Kou began to notice this change and would always ask her mother what was wrong, and the reply was always the same "I'm just tired from the mission Kou, I'm ok."

The more Sasuke and Kou play and interact the more they learned about one another. Kou had learned about the Uchiha clan from Sasuke, or atleast as much as his father had taught him. She thought they were nice people, and they always seemed polite towards her when she traveled around their district with Sasuke. But Kou's life seemed more confusing and peaked Sasuke's interest.

"So...explain your job again?" asked Sasuke.

"Well the monks said I'm a Spirit Guardian I help protect this world, the one we live in, from evil spirits that live in the spirit world," explained Kou.

"Ok...what is the Spirit World? Do dead people live there?" asked Sasuke confused.

"Well no... well kind of. Dead people don't live in the same place as the evil spirits, and there's good spirits too. Sometimes they take on things in our world...I think...atleast thats what the monks told me," replied an unsure Kou. She scratched her head and tried to think of a better explanation.

"I think it's cool. The Uchiha clan is all about protecting people, so I'll help you help other people," smiled Sasuke. Kou also smiled and they both went back to building their fort out of blankets from the house. Itachi came home to find his room had fallen victim to the children's project. He smiled and ended up joining them to Sasuke's excitement.

Kou found Itachi to also be a kind hearted person. She liked him despite the grief he gave Sasuke. She could also see a sadness in Itachi but never questioned it. She figured he was just tired from missions.

Miya continued to grow weaker over time causing her to cancel the trip with Kou to Konoha . Kou was eight years old when this happened and a few days later she learned why she and her mother had been going to Konoha in the first place. At the monastery she awoke one morning to find her mother still asleep.

"Mom wake up, you said you would teach me to throw kunai today!" yelled Kou as she entered her mother's room. When her mother did not wake up she began to shake her.

"Mom! Wake Up!" Kou's shouting continued and became more desperate. Some monks came in to remove her from her mother's side. She screamed and fussed as they grappled to take her away.

The head monk Daichi came in to the room. He was recently named the leader of the monastery after the death of the previous head monk. He was bald, but had a pointy, short, black with grey streaks goatee. He checked Miya's pulse and found that she was dead. He turned to Kou who was struggling against the monks trying to restrain her.

"Kou you must calm down. Your mother has entered the spirit world safely and happily. She was sick for a very long time and in a lot of pain. She had been going to Konoha to get the best medical care possible. Unfortunately nothing seemed to be able to cure her disease," said Daichi solemnly. "You have a purpose in this life Kou and your mother would want you to fulfill that destiny."

Kou continued to cry but relaxed. The monks loostened their hold and she ran to hug Daichi. The head monk consoled her, "Kou you are ready to begin your training to become the Spirit Guardian of this world. I am going to help you, and your mother will always be with you. You have her strength."

Kou released her hold on the head monk and stepped back, "Does this mean I can't go to Konaha to visit Sasuke anymore Master Daichi?" she sniffled.

"I'm very sorry Kou, but you will not be able to return any time soon. Your training and mastery of your kekkei genkai is very important. Although I'm sure you will see Sasuke again, and you can write to him," replied Daichi

Kou continued to sob. She was so distraught, but knew she would become as strong as she could for her mother and for Sasuke. After all it had been both their goals to become the most powerful ninja in world, and she certainly couldn't let him beat her.

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><p>I hope you all like where this story is going, and that you'll continue to read and review<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for the reviews! So far everything seems pretty positive. So this chapter is going to explain what has happened to Sasuke and Kou. Kous kekkei genkai will also be explained. At this point the War between the shinobi nations and Madara has just begun._

Dancing Spirits

They said war was necessary, they said it was a matter of the world's security. The monks always looked for peace. That's what they had taught her, peace through a sound and balanced mind. Kou was far from sound and balanced at this point. Now seventeen years old she was the Spirit Guardian, the master of the spirit connection technique and blind.

As she sat on top of a cliff she could sense the life and energy around her. She knew there was a waterfall next to her and a large pool of water below. She knew there were mountains, forests and various animals around her. She knew all this without actually seeing.

A lot had changed since the day her mother died. Now that she was older she had grown in many ways physically and mentally. She still had her long black hair, but it was tied in a low braid and reached below her shoulder blades. Her eyes were no longer blue, because of her blindness they were a ghostly white and her pupils were gray. She was taller, but was still the shortest person in the village. She wore a white long sleeve shirt with a dark blue wrap that started at her chest and went to her hips. There was a smaller red scarf tied on top of the blue wrap just below her chest. It had been her mothers. She also wore spandex shorts that stopped above the knee, and her ninja pack was strapped around her right leg.

Her training had been rigorous and successful, but she still had a long way to go. Her body was toned, although the monks complained that she was too skinny sometimes.

She had written to Sasuke as much as she could. She knew about the Uchiha massacre, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, the mission to Mist village, and his participation in the Chunin exams, but the letters had stopped coming when she was thirteen. She remembered the last one perfectly; in fact she had it memorized:

_Kou,_

_The village is finally getting back to normal after the attack. No one except Shikamaru was named a Chunin. It's unfair. They sent me to defeat Gaara and I failed, I guess that's why I wasn't promoted. Naruto wasn't promoted either despite the fact he defeated Gaara.I don't know how a loser like him has improved so much._

_Itachi came though. He was looking for Naruto for some reason, we fought and I was defeated miserably. I can't believe it. After all this training I am still not strong enough. Itachi said I didn't have enough hatred. I can't help but ask myself how I can get stronger while still playing ninja around here. I need to train, to hate, I need to defeat Itachi for my clan. I need to break these bonds that make me weak. _

_I'm sure this letter has upset you a bit but you're the only one I've ever been able to talk to, although I think I have relied on you too much. I think it's time I leave this place and learn to harness the power of my curse mark and sharingan, Kakashi is holding me back from my true power. _

_I hope we are able to fight each other someday from what you've told me it sounds like you're getting really strong. I don't know when I will write next, or if I'll ever be able to write again. _

_Good Luck Kou._

_Sasuke_

He had never written after that, but she knew what had happened. Master Daichi had received word to look out for Sasuke and Orochimaru. Apparently he had gone to that ugly bastard to gain his much desired power; after all it was that horrible snake who had given Sasuke the curse mark. Kou had been quite upset, but promised to one day help Sasuke if she ever saw him again.

She was stuck here, at this stupid monastery. She was isolated from the rest of the world, because of Akatsuki. She was the guardian of the Spirit World and the tailed beasts had originally been created by her ancestors. She was dangerous to their mission because part of her gift was the ability to seal the demons back into the Sprit World. She had yet to learn this jutsu but Akatsuki didn't know that.

Despite the fact she had yet to learn the sealing jutsu Kou had still learned a lot about being the Spirit Guardian, and the kekkei genkai that came along with it.

_Flashback_

"_Kou AGAIN!" said master Daichi sternly. He was getting older but he was still lively and agile._

"_Master how am I supposed to hit you? I can't see!" yelled Kou._

_The two had been training for hours, during which time Kou had finally been able to awaken her kekkei genkai. _

"_This is the effect of your kekkei genkai. You are permanently blind once you awaken your power, but your connection to the spirit energy around you is heightened. You must use your sharp senses to connect with the earth and feel my movement," replied Daichi calmly._

"_Wait you mean I'll never see again!" yelled Kou frantically as she began waving her arms in the air. _

_The monk walked over to his student and calmed her. "I'm afraid that is the truth, but if you learn to control your senses and your connection with the spirit energy around you, then you will never need your eye sight. In fact you will be better off without it."_

_Kou calmed down and thought about what he had said. "If my mother trusted you, then I will trust you," she said solemnly. _

"_Good now try again. It might be easier to connect with the earth if you take your ninja sandals off," suggested Daichi._

_End Flashback_

Kou had learned with time what the positives to her kekkei genkai were despite her blindness. She had found that she could connect her chakra with the spirit energy of the living things around her. All life had spirit energy and by connecting her chakra with it she could see without actually seeing. She could jump from tree to tree just like any other ninja by sensing the trees spirit energy, and locating it. Originally it had taken her time to actually locate everything around her. Now she could do it instantly, and without using too much chakra.

She could also detect people and their movements by connecting with the earth and feeling their vibrations. This had also been difficult to master, especially if there were multiple people attacking. She had learned to shut out outside noise and solely focus on individual movements. She could even detect people diving at her from above by listening to the fabric of their shirt whistle through the air.

That was the other advantage to being blind. Her other senses such as hearing and touch were heighten tenfold. She could tell when a person was lying, because she could hear their heart rate quicken. She could feel the heat of a candle flame from fifty feet away, and she could smell the temple's incense sticks from half a mile.

The other thing she had to learn was molding her chakra with her elemental affinity, which was earth. She could connect with the earth's sprit energy and control it however she pleased. Other sprit guardians before her had been able to control fire, water or wind. Being able to control earth had been especially useful, because she could pick up on the vibrations of people's movements easier than the other spirit guardians had, and she could sense these movements at greater distances. While other guardians had used a spirit staff to walk during their daily activities, Kou could simply walk barefoot and achieve the same effect of knowing where everything was and not run into objects.

As Kou sat at her favorite spot she sensed the temperature change and realized the sun was going down. It was the one thing she missed the most about seeing, she missed the colors of the sunrise and sunset. She didn't dwell on this depressing thought for long she could only think of the uncertain future that seemed to be sitting heavy in and around the monastery.

The War that had seemed inevitable had begun and Sasuke seemed to be in the middle of it. She had been told about his attack on the Kage summit, the summit she was supposed to attend but at the last minute her master Daichi felt it was unsafe. Apparently Madara had been there in hopes he could have taken her. Her location had been kept a fiercely guarded secret. No one aside from the monks that lived at the monastery actually knew her village's location.

It was a small village with a giant temple at the center. She was still the only woman here, but she had grown close to the young monks around her age. A large statue of the Buddha was inside the temple. He was positioned in a meditating position and was decorated with various flowers and incense from rituals. What many people including many of monks didn't know was that the statue was also the gate to the spirit world. It is the only gate in the world and Kou had only recently learned to open and enter it to meet with leaders in the Spirit World.

That was her job after all to make sure demons and evil spirits could not enter the living world, and if any had managed to trespass it was her job to take them back. Instead of ninja missions, she was sent with groups of ninja monks to capture the evil beings, but instead of sealing them right after they were captured she had to return them to the temple, open the gate, and return them herself. The "on the spot" sealing technique was the final jutsu she had to learn, but it wasn't easy. It required a lot of spirit energy and chakra, and they had to be balanced correctly or she could be killed instantly.

"Troublesome," she said to herself as she was deep in thought. That's what life was at this point. She didn't know the exact details of everything going on, but she could sense everyone's uneasiness.

She heard someone's footsteps coming and quickly identified they belonged to master Daichi.

He had grown older gracefully. He was still agile for his age and wore long yellow and dark red monk robes. His eyes were the color of coal, and h is goatee was now all gray. He had a few wrinkles now but Kou knew he could be a fierce opponent.

"I can detect your mind is troubled Kou. What has you concerned?" he asked calmly approaching her slowly.

"My best friend is an international criminal and there is a war going on that I know nothing about, and yet I could stop it instantly if I could just master that jutsu," replied Kou disheartened. She pulled her knees closer to her as her teacher sat in front of her.

"My dear you have mastered many of these techniques faster than any of your ancestors. No one before you has ever had such urgency at such a young age," consoled the wise monk. "The other spirit guardians were much older and more experienced during the other wars. No one is blaming you."

"I know. I am trying," she said.

Daichi looked at his student with an understanding expression. He was also doing his best to teach her as fast as he could, but the sealing jutsu was not something that could be rushed.

"I have some good news for you. The nine and eight tails are currently in hiding and the hidden villages have united to form an army," said Daichi.

"How is that good news?" asked Kou quizzically.

"Well at least it has nothing to do with death or betrayal which has been the most common news we've received," replied her master with a smile.

Kou couldn't help but smile back, "Yeah I guess. I'm sure they won't be able to hold Naruto though. From what I've heard about him from the stories and Sasuke, he seems very determined, head strong and powerful."

"You are probably right," the monk replied his smile not leaving his face. "Hopefully Master Bee will teach him to harness the nine tails. I heard Naruto loses control if angry."

Kou laughed, "I remember Bee I wish Naruto the best of luck if he has to train with the ninja world's weirdest rapper."

Daichi's smile faded, "Master Bee is a capable teacher and has full control of his tailed beast. If both can control their respective beasts they could be a great ally to the war."

"So could I if you would let me," said Kou as she crossed her arms and frowned.

"Patience child, your time will come," her master replied touching her on the shoulder. He was proud of her development as a ninja and as a person. He knew she was not blood thirsty for battle; she simply wanted to end the war before it could take lives. The monks had always preached peace and to value all life and she had obviously taken that lesson to heart.

"_I guess that is why we named you after the very thing we value most, peace," _he thought.

Suddenly he saw his student's demeanor change. She stood and her face showed concentration, she had activated her kekkei genkai towards the forest behind them.

"We have an intruder," she said sternly to her master.

Daichi knodded and both quickly ran into the forest to investigate.

_Obviously there was a lot of information in this chapter. I hope I didn't make it boring or confusing. It makes sense in my head cause I thought of it lol, but if there are things that aren't clear I will do my best to explain them in later chapters. I couldn't give it all away at once now could I? Would Love some reviews!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry for the delay it's getting close to finals week and for college students that means hell lol. The plot will really start to take shape and the background info will start to lessen. _

Sasuke Uchiha walked slowly through the forest. He knew they were coming and he was glad. He hadn't seen Kou since they were children, but he had always wanted to fight her once he fully understood her powers. Her letters had helped him through those years he was alone, but they had also motivated him to get stronger. He was also interested in her techniques since she was blind, that was the main reason for traveling to her village.

Sasuke was dressed in the outfit he had worn during the Kage summit fight, and his sharingan was activated. He also carried his sword on his back, and had the weapon summoning seal tattooed onto his left wrist.

Sasuke continued along the forest path and heard the sound of a leaf crunching. There in front of him was Kou and an older man he assumed was her sensei. Around them were over fifty ninja monks ready to strike if necessary.

He knew it was Kou right away there was no disputing it. The black hair, the ghostly eyes, and that stupid smirk she wore. She had always smirked at him that way when she won a game or a sparring match when they were little.

"Well, well, well spoiled Uchiha do you have a death wish?" she stated chuckling.

"Monks don't kill, you lot tend to value life no matter how pitiful," he replied dryly.

Kou's smirk faded to a frown, "I think we can make an exception for Akatsuki trash like you."

"Kou it may not be wise to attack, you know about the power of a fully developed Mangekyou sharingan," whispered master Daichi.

"We have trained all these years to defend against it. I do not plan on simply giving myself up to the Akatsuki, or allowing a spoiled Uchiha brat to destroy our village," she replied. "Plus I've always wanted to fight Sasuke."

"Your sensei's right Kou you're in over your head against me, but I have no intention of trying to take you to Akatsuki," said a very serious Sasuke.

"_He's not lieing," _thought Kou as she felt his heart beat stay steady. "_What is he up to?"_

"Back off my friends I wish to take Sasuke on myself," said Kou sternly readying herself in a defensive stance.

"Do as she says men we will simply monitor," ordered Daichi to the monks. He leaned down to his student's ear and whispered, "Kou remember our ways."

Kou simply nodded as her master and the rest of the monks positioned themselves behind her in various parts of the forest.

"Kou I am not here to fight I have other reasons for coming here," said Sasuke sternly.

"How did you even find this place? No one knows about it," asked Kou angrily.

"You left small chakra signatures on the letters you sent me, I used my sharingan to follow them," replied Sasuke grinning.

Kou was shocked. "_How could I have been so careless?" _

"Bastard," she growled. Kou hardened her stance and prepared to attack.

"I see you're serious about this, well I wouldn't mind seeing how strong you are. You're still in over your head against me," said Sasuke as he pulled out his sword and prepared for her attack.

Sasuke was slightly confused at Kou's stance. She had her feet square and shoulder width apart. Her legs were in a slight squat and her arms were held right out in front of her with her hands facing up. _"I've never seen anything like this before how can she attack or defend in that stance.'_

Sasuke shifted ever so slightly but it was enough for Kou to sense his exact position. She slid her left foot in a semi circular motion in front of her, while flipping her arms so her palms faced the ground. She tightened her arm muscles as the ground began to shake. She raised her arms as a large rock rose from the ground leaving a crater.

"Spirit Style: Earth Connection!"

Kou pushed her right arm forward launching the rock at Sasuke who easily dodged it and began to charge at Kou.

Kou stomped on the ground and made a slashing motion with her arm as the earth began to cave in under Sasuke.

Sasuke was briefly surprised as the ground beneath him gave out but he recovered by flipping and planting his sword in the ground in front of him. He made a pole vault like motion over his sword and pulled the weapon out of the ground as he continued to charge at his opponent.

Kou stayed in her position but changed her stance. Her right foot was in front of her left and her arms returned to an upright position. She knew exactly where Sasuke was and how fast he was moving._ "I'll admit he's got some speed, we'll just have to take care of that."_

Kou crouched to the ground slamming her fists she sank a little in her personal crater. As Sasuke neared he raised his weapon to strike when Kou suddenly disappeared under the earth.

"_Where the hell is she?"_ Sasuke thought as he looked around trying to pick up her chakra signature.

Suddenly the earth began to shake and turn into a mixture of soft dirt and sand. Kou came up from underneath the earth in her stance and motioned for Sasuke to attack.

Sasuke lunged forward, but at a much slower pace. _"I can't get a grip on this ground; she wanted to slow me down."_

Kou sensing his decline in speed began summoning multiple rocks from the earth and throwing them at Sasuke who dodged easily.

Sasuke jumped in the air once he was a few feet away and readied himself to strike from above, _"She can't hear me of feel vibrations if I'm in the air."_

As he plummeted towards her readying his strike, Kou heard the ruffle of the fabric he was wearing and slid out of the way. Sasuke's sword struck the earth making a large hole, but the weapon was also stuck in the ground as Kou forced the earth over the sword. Sasuke's hands were covered by the earth as well and he was stuck too. Kou lifted her arms in the air and made the earth under Sasuke rise up and hit him, knocking the wind out of him.

He knelt trying to catch his breath, "I see your blindness makes your other senses better and you heard me coming at you from the air. Interesting," said Sasuke as he tried to catch his breath. "I see you've learned new jutsus as well; I guess I can't keep going easy on you."

Sasuke's sharingan eyes changed into the mangekyou form. He broke the earth that bound his hands with a part of susanoo. The energy around his arms disappeared and he quickly went through hand signs, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

The flames headed straight for Kou who quickly felt the heat on her skin. She raised her arms above her head in a circular motion and encased herself in hard earth, which shielded her from the flames. Sasuke charged at her shield and struck it with his fists breaking it, only to reveal no one inside. He encased himself in susanoo's energy preparing for Kou to attack.

"You'll always live in your brother's shadow Sasuke you didn't learn these techniques Itachi gave them to you," came Kou's voice. She was still hidden.

"Shut up you bitch!" yelled Sasuke as susanoo's energy grew around him. _"How does she know about Itachi?"_

"Can't seem to control that temper either, you have no place here!" yelled Kou.

"Come out you Coward!" screamed Sasuke. She had hit a nerve with her comment about Itachi.

Kou decided to reveal herself and came up through the earth. She was different though, her arms and legs were covered in black writing. She remained in her stance with her arms in front pointed toward the sky as energy began to form at her finger tips. Sasuke glared at her and went through hand signs. "Amaterasu!"

The black flames shot towards Kou as she gathered energy. Sasuke thought for sure he had her, but she did a spin and summoned earth from beneath her which took the brunt of the flames at the last second. As she did she locked her hands together and pointed her index fingers out and formed a gun shape. The energy gathered at the tips of her fingers. "Spirit Style: Soul Shot!"

The energy shot at Sasuke with unheard of speed. He was helpless on the ground gripping his eye in pain. The blood ran down his face onto his hand. As the energy drew near Sasuke thought he was done for when suddenly he was surrounded by darkness. He heard an explosion, but he couldn't see what happened. Just as suddenly as the darkness appear it receded and Sasuke found Kou in front of him with her arms raised. She had summoned earth around them and protected him from her own attack.

"Why did you do that?" he asked confused and slightly relieved.

"The monks taught me all life is sacred," she said as she turned towards him. "I guess even yours."

"You believed I came here to take you to Akatsuki, and destroy your village," he replied getting to his feet.

"I knew you were telling the truth I felt your heart rate remain calm, if you were lying it would have changed its speed," she replied indifferently.

"The why fight me?" asked Sasuke.

"Curiosity."

The monks came into view as they took hold of Sasuke, who was too weak to fight back, "Lady Kou what will you have us do with him?" asked a young monk.

"He will remain here as our guest," said Master Daichi as he walked towards Sasuke and his student. "He will stay in one of the spare rooms in the temple where Lady Kou and I can keep an eye on him."

The monks released Sasuke and began to walk back to the temple. "You boy, may stay here until you give me a reason to kill you," said Daichi coldly.

"I thought you valued life?" asked Sasuke with a hint of sarcasm.

"When it comes to the Spirit Guardians safety the Buddhist beliefs can be overruled," replied the head monk as he walked away.

"Hm," retorted Sasuke as he followed the old monk. Kou followed behind him.

Sasuke followed Kou and her master through the forest until they reached a clearing. They walked up a hill and when he reached the top Sasuke could see Kou's entire village inside a valley.

There was a huge Temple at the center that was surrounded by various shops and houses. The village was large but nowhere near the size of his old home. The houses had lots of space between them. Each had a yard; many had gardens, ponds or assorted rock gardens for meditation.

Sasuke looked at Kou after staring at the village wondering how they would get down to the bottom. His question was answered immediately when Kou stomped on the ground and the earth beneath them cracked into a perfect square, which held the three of them. The square slid down the side of the mountain as Kou made a swaying motion with her arms. When they reached the bottom they jumped off their make shift elevator and headed down a dirt path.

"The other monks use their chakra to climb down the mountain, but I figured you'd be tired from the battle," said Kou with a slight smirk.

"Hm," was Sasuke's reply keeping his face emotionless. _"How is she still going I can barely stand?"_

The three of them walked until they reached a very large house with a red, pagoda like roof. A porch wrapped around the entire house, and a swing has hooked up in the front.

"You will be staying with us Sasuke Uchiha so we may monitor you," said Daichi as he stood aside and motioned for Sasuke to enter the house.

When they entered the house Sasuke could see it was simple. Every room had tatami flooring and the walls were wooden or painted a cream color. The doors were sliding doors and the furniture was also a simple single color of a deep blue. Sasuke followed Kou after removing his shoes through the living room into a hallway. Daichi left them to go into the kitchen and began cooking dinner.

Kou walked until she reached the last door in the hallway. "This is the only other room except mine that has an actual bed. The monks sleep on simple mats, they try to live without unnecessary comforts. Personally I prefer a cushioned bed especially after a hard day of training," said Kou with a small smile. She stepped to the side and motioned for Sasuke to enter the room.

He walked in apprehensively but saw that like the other rooms this one was simple and had nothing more than a bed and a small closet.

"The bathroom is right next to your room, we'll have to share it," said Kou as Sasuke continued surveying the room. "Sorry it's not like the pampered Uchiha manshion."

Sasuke turned and glared at a smirking Kou, "Don't mention my old house."

"Calm down spoiled. Dinner will be in a couple minutes I suggest you wash up," said Kou turning to walk away.

"Why are you doing this for me, why not throw me in a jail or something? I know you know about the attack on the kage summit," asked Sasuke with no emotion.

"Well first this is a monk city, we don't have any jails. Second you said you weren't here to take me to Akatsuki, you said you had other reasons," replied Kou.

Sasuke remain silent but looked at her wondering why a group of peaceful monks would allow an international criminal among them. Kou seemed to sense his confusion.

"We figure if you're here, you're not out there wreaking havoc against the shinobi alliance. This village is neutral when it comes to the shinobi nations, but since they are working together we are allied to them and against Madara," she said. "Besides you haven't shut off your sharingan I'm curious why, and I want to know why you really came to see me."

Sasuke didn't answer her question he was too busy trying to figure out how she knew he still had his kekkei genkai activated she couldn't see it. Before he could speak Kou simply walked away to her room which he noticed was right across from his. Before she closed the door behind her she turned to him, "You can answer my questions once you've eaten and cleaned yourself up, and I can see your chakra mixing with your spirit energy continuously in the eye region, that's how I know your sharingan is activated." With that she closed her door.

Sasuke stood emotionless, but on the inside he was surprised. _"Does she read minds too?"_

Before he could ponder too much about what just happened, Sasuke headed to the bathroom and got ready for a shower. He looked in the mirror and could see the blood had stained the side of his cheek. He undressed himself and got into the shower. He could feel the hot water flow down his body. He couldn't remember the last time he had a warm shower. As he washed himself he heard Daichi call out that dinner was ready. Sasuke finished and stepped out to grab a towel. He walked into his room to find folded robes for him to wear. They were black and he could tell they had been previously worn, because of the small pulls in the fabric.

He looked at his own clothes and saw how dirty they were. These robes would have to do until he washed his regular clothes. After he changed he walked out into the hallway, through the living room and into the kitchen. There he saw Kou sitting and eating her meal, she had changed into a black t-shirt and bright pink sweatpants. A place had been set for him as well. Daichi sat reading a book with no food in front of him.

Sasuke sat down and began eating. Daichi looked up over his book, "Monks only eat in the morning, we fast during the rest of the day. Kou is the only exception, because of her training she needs to eat to keep up her strength."

Sasuke didn't reply. He was busy trying not to dump the rice into his mouth, he was starving.

"So…Sasuke… why are you here?" asked Kou as she looked up from her meal. Daichi also looked at the Uchiha quizically.

Sasuke sighed and lowered his bowl. He deactivated his sharingan. Kou made a slight gasping noise as Daichi looked at him in shock.

"I'm blind."


	4. Chapter 4

_I know the war takes place very quickly after the Kage summit and I also know the war lasts for two days, or at least that's where we're at now in the Manga. My time frame will be a little longer than the Manga in order to develop the story, and characters. I hope that's cool with everyone._

The only sound that could be heard throughout the Village Hidden at the Gate was the crickets that sang their song. Sasuke sat in darkness in his new room listening to them.

Suddenly he turned to his window, sharingan activated. "I've been waiting."

"Sorry getting here is no easy feat even for me," said Madara Uchiha as he appeared seemingly out of thin air. "It seems you have achieved our first objective."

"She's strong, but she didn't use all her power in our fight, I don't know if she knows the sealing technique," said Sasuke emotionless.

"She is young. I assume she does not, but we must have her despite that. I have not gotten this far by being careless," replied Madara. He chuckled, "She seemed to handle you quite well, perhaps I chose the wrong student."

Sasuke frowned and glared at the older Uchiha, "Hm. If I hadn't just fought Danzo I would have killed her easily."

"Good to hear, but remember to behave while you're here," replied Madara in a scolding manner.

Sasuke smirked, "It will be done. I can't believe they let me in here at all, fools."

"Like the brat said earlier, keeping you here means they can keep an eye on you and you will not interfere with the war," said Madara as he began to walk away from the window. "I can trust your feelings for the girl will not get in the way?"

"I never had feelings for her," replied Sasuke frowning.

Madara continued walking away, but turned his head to address his student, "Good. You have five months until the war begins. Bring her to the Akatsuki hide out before that time runs out. Oh and feel free to learn a thing or two from the blind bat while you're at it." With that the Uchiha disappeared.

Sasuke watched him leave with a glare. "Hm," he said as he covered himself with the blankets that had been given to him. The bed was comfortable and he fell asleep quickly after an exhausting day.

Daybreak came far too quickly for Sasuke's liking as the sun shined through the only window in the room. He was about to fall back asleep when a gong sounded. He opened his eyes and let out a small groan. He stood and cracked his back and neck. He also activated his sharingan so he could see where he was going, before walking toward the window. He saw monks lining up in two lines. They began walking throughout the village as people presented them with food for the black bowls they carried.

"It's called Alms round, they do it every morning. The shop keepers here are former orphans raised by the monks, who decided not to actually become members of the temple," said Kou from Sasuke's door way. She walked up to the window and stood next to him.

"In return for being allowed to stay in the village the people cook food for the monks in the morning, since it's the only time the monks are allowed to eat. It's supposed to bring them good luck," she continued staring out into the distance.

"Why don't the orphans just leave?" asked Sasuke.

"I don't know really. They're all men and you would think they'd like to settle down, get married, and have kids. I guess they just like the atmosphere. They also sell clothes and other supplies to the monks and me for missions and such. The businesses are small, but they're needed in order for the village to function. If they weren't here we'd have to travel all the way to the leaf village for supplies."

Kou sighed after this long statement. Sasuke simply stared across the village. The sun was slowly rising over the mountains, and he could see the hustle and bustle of the village starting. It reminded him of his old home, but on a smaller scale.

"Are you ready to start some training today?" asked Kou breaking Sasuke from his thoughts. She looked at him without a smile, but her expression was not as hard as it had been the previous day.

**Flashback**

"I'm blind."

Kou and Daichi had been shocked at this news. How could someone powerful like an Uchiha be blind and almost helpless without his kekkei genkai?

"I used the Mangekyou Sharingan too much, and this is the side affect. I can only see by activating my normal sharingan, but after a while my chakra runs out," said Sasuke emotionlessly after an awkward silence.

Kou got up from her chair and moved toward him. When she was inches from where he sat she placed her hands on the sides of head and closed her eyes. She was no medic ninja, but she wanted to try and sense his spirit energy in his eye area to see if it was mixing with his chakra properly. Sasuke sat awkwardly not really knowing what was going on, because he couldn't see.

"He's right. The Mangekyou overuse has fried where his spirit energy and chakra mix in the eye area. There is almost no activity, but I can sense where the ocular kekkei genkai is and it seems to be fine," said Kou after a few seconds of silence.

"Why have you come here then?" asked Daichi remaining seated in his chair with both his elbows on the table and his hands wrapped together and placed under his chin.

"I thought you and Kou could teach me to live and fight blind so I don't have to constantly use the sharingan," replied Sasuke.

"Did Madara put you up to this?" asked Kou staring at him hard. Her eyes may have been ghostly white and unreadable, but her expression showed mistrust towards the Uchiha. Sasuke reactivated his sharingan.

"I work for no one. This is my free will," replied Sasuke emotionlessly making sure to keep his heart rate steady. Madara had taught him how to lie without Kou detecting it. It seemed to have worked earlier and he hoped it was working now with such little space between them.

"Either you are an incredible liar, or you're actually telling the truth," said Kou taking a step back from the Uchiha and relaxing herself. "Let's say I teach you. You'll just use the skills to take down Naruto and the allied armies."

"I am technically a prisoner here. With your senses I don't stand a chance of escaping. Then you'll just turn me over to the allies, who will probably kill me," replied Sasuke remaining emotionless and calm.

A silence came as Daichi and Kou thought about this idea. Sasuke remained calm and watched the two deep in thought.

"Why would you purposefully imprison yourself in order to receive this training?" asked Daichi moving into an upright position in his chair.

"I hate relying on anything, including my sharingan just to perform normal, everyday functions. It's weak and despicable," said Sasuke with some disgust. "There's no cure for the blindness I have to work with what I have." Sasuke made sure that his heart rate stayed steady when he said this. He knew as soon as he took Kou to the Akatsuki hide out Madara would implant Itachi's eyes into his, reversing the blindness and making his sharingan more powerful. That was deal Kou, for his eye sight back.

"I'll train you," replied Kou sighing and closing her eyes. "I could use a new training partner." She smirked as she said this.

"We'll figure out what to do with you after the war, the allies have enough on their plates. I will inform them that you are our prisoner," said Daichi getting up to send a messenger hawk to the allied base camp.

**End Flashback**

"Hm."

"I'll take that as a yes…spoiled," Kou replied a little under her breath, but loud enough for Sasuke to hear.

They walked out to the kitchen and prepared a small breakfast for themselves. Sasuke was slightly surprised at how Kou walked throughout the kitchen. She knew exactly where everything was and could even cook. She used her hands to test the eggs and managed to not burn her hands. She seemed to be counting her steps a lot and touched every cabinet counting as she went. Everything in the kitchen was very organized; he assumed this had been done on purpose so she could cook for herself.

"Cooking took the longest to learn. You have to be able to measure by hearing the liquid pour, and know temperature by the heat that radiates off the food and oven," said Kou as she worked. She smiled, "I wash my hands a lot because I touch the food so much. It's annoying, but at least I'm not helpless."

"Hm," was Sasukes reply as he made himself eggs.

He found his gaze moving toward her feet as she stood on her tip toes to reach a pan in the upper cabinet. The bottoms of them were almost black from walking around on all sorts of terrain. They were callused and her toe nails were worn down. They weren't pretty, but it showed him how she connected so well with the earth around her. _I'll use this to my advantage next time we fight, _he thought.

They ate in silence and washed their utensils. Afterward both changed into their normal ninja clothes. Sasuke's had been washed by the temple boys during the night and were place on his bed when he walked into his bedroom.

"The boys must be afraid of you if they're coming in and out of your window," said Kou while she stood in Sasuke's doorway waiting for him.

The window had been closed when Sasuke left for breakfast, but now it was open. "Hm."

They walked out of the house and weaved in and out of the streets. They stopped at the base of a cliff and Kou performed her earth manipulation to create the elevator like platform of rock. They reached the top and walked through the woods until they reached a clearing. Sasuke assumed this was Kou's normal training ground because of the uprooted trees and giant holes.

"The first thing you have to learn is to see with your other senses, because you don't have earth affiliation I will teach you to use your sense of hearing the most," said Kou as they took in their surroundings. "Turn off your sharingan spoiled, and we'll begin."

First Kou had Sasuke meditate and attune his senses to the movement around him. He found that he could hear the small animals move around him, but it became hard to determine where exactly everything was coming from.

"There's an ant colony at three o' clock about fifty feet away. Try and zero in on their marching and block out the other sounds. In battle you have to learn to zero in on the sound of your enemy, while also maintaining your awareness of the surroundings," said Kou as she meditated beside Sasuke.

Sasuke attempted to find the ant hill. He black out all other noises and zeroed in on the sounds of the ants moving on the ground and carrying leaves. Suddenly he was struck by something.

"Bitch! What was that for!" yelled Sasuke as he nearly fell over grabbing his head. Kou had hit him with her fist.

"I told you. You have to know where the enemy is, but also know what's going on around you," replied Kou with a chuckle. She remained in her meditative position. "For example I know where those ants are, but I also know there is a chipmunk gathering food for the winter at four o'clock, sixty feet away and there is waterfall a mile away directly behind us."

Sasuke took this in and tried again, bracing himself to be hit again. When the blow didn't come he opened his senses more and found he could hear all the things she was talking about. Suddenly he heard Kou move again to hit him. He blocked her blow before it reached his head.

Sasuke smirked as he turned and faced Kou despite the fact he couldn't see her. Kou smirked, "Pretty good for a spoiled brat."

The day continued on as the two meditated, with Kou periodically directing attacks from all sides at Sasuke. Sometimes he detected them, but other more advanced attacks he could not dodge or block. He had a few cuts and bruises, but he seemed to be improving.

Kou finally stood and stretched, "Alright spoiled, let's get some combat in so I can actually get some training out of today."

Sasuke also stood and activated his sharingan, "Alright, but I won't go easy on you like yesterday."

"Ha! Don't make me laugh you can't handle me," replied Kou with a laugh.

"Watch me." With that Sasuke disappeared into the forest, and Kou readied herself by getting in her stance.

Sasuke attacked from above and on the ground as fast as he could, but he could not land a blow. Kou could manipulate the earth as fast as Gaara could control his sand.

She periodically went on the offensive and threw rocks at Sasuke. She could change the earth's surface into different textures and footings. She also created huge walls of earth that Sasuke would dodge or run threw, but slowed him down and allowed her to dodge his chidori and fire attacks.

Sasuke was also perplexed by how she controlled the earth. She was using some sort of tai jutsu style to move the earth as she pleased. Normally he would have been able to track and predict these movements with his sharingan, but there was no pattern to the movement and what she made the earth do. It was almost impossible to predict what each movement would result in.

Sasuke sat on top of a tree branch breathing heavily. _She's a long distance fighter, if I get in close she's done for. She won't be able to read or hear my movements fast enough, but how do I get in close enough to attack?_

Suddenly Sasuke had an idea. He stripped off his clothes down to his spandex shorts. He jumped into the air and flew down directly on top of Kou. Because of his tight clothing she could not hear the ruffle on his fabric. He slammed a kick on top of Kou's head and she hit the ground hard. He continued the attack by picking her up and throwing her into the air. He appeared under her and continued to kick her as they rose up in the air.

_Shit _thought Kou. Being in the air was her number one weakness. She had nothing to connect to because she was not touching the ground. Being in a tree was no problem because of the roots, but open air was a different matter.

Sasuke switched his position and appeared above a helpless Kou. He charged a chidori and prepared to strike her. This was exactly what Kou needed as she heard the spark of the chidori she twisted her body in mid air and grabbed Sasuke's wrist and wrapped it behind him. She was now behind him as they both plummeted towards the ground.

_She's fast, _thought a surprised Sasuke, his chidori still activated behind him, causing the two of them to receive some electrical shock.

As they fell towards the ground Sasuke countered her move by elbowing Kou in the stomach. Kou let out a gasp as spit flew from her mouth. Sasuke and Kou were separated but both hit the ground, Sasuke first then Kou on top of him.

A small crater had been created from the impact. Kou was lying on top of Sasuke.

"Get off of me," mumble Sasuke. Kous face was under his chin. She looked up at him, both of them were bleeding, but none of their injuries seemed life threatening.

Kou pushed off Sasuke, who hissed from pain. She landed on her feet a few feet away from the crater and got in her stance. Sasuke pulled himself out and stood ready to fight again.

Both ninjas were breathing heavy and stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Kou bit into her thumb and created hand signs, Sasuke used his sharingan and read what the hand signs meant. He also bit into his finger and made hand signs. Both yelled, "Summoning Jutsu!" and slammed their hands onto the ground as a smoked enshrouded the area. When everything cleared Sasuke stood on top of a large hawk that hovered in the air flapping its wings. Kou stood on the back of a giant bat that also hovered in the air.

"Blind as a bat, fitting," said Sasuke with a small grin. Both summons shot up into the air. A dog fight proceeded as Sasuke shot fire balls at Kou. Kou on the other hand had switched to shooting her soul shot as fast as she could at Sasuke.

"I thought the air was not your strong point." Mocked Sasuke as the hawk and bat collided and locked their feet together.

"It's not my first choice, but I tap into the bat's spirit energy and use its sonic waves to see," replied Kou as she charged another soul shot. Sasuke charged a chidori and shot it at Kou. Bother jutsus collided causing the summons to break apart. The summons puffed away in a cloud of smoke from the explosion as Sasuke and Kou free fell towards the earth. Sasuke grabbed Kou quickly and shot a chidori, he ordered his opponent to do the same with her soul shot. The result was a softer landing as the two collided with the ground. They hit the earth hard, but the result was not deadly.

Both were knocked unconscious as they lay next to each other inches apart. Sasuke was the first to awake and gasped in pain as he grabbed his ribs. He rolled over on his side and found an unconscious Kou. This could be his chance to drag her to the Akatsuki base, but he was in no shape to carry her all the way there. He lay there in the small crater they had once again created and thought about what to do.

Suddenly he heard footsteps coming towards them. Master Daichi had heard the commotion and seen the dog fight in the air. He walked toward the two bodies lying on the ground.

"Well, this will certainly help move things along won't it? You certainly are a match for her Uchiha," said Daichi calmly as he look between Sasuke and his student. "C'mon lets head to the medical house and fix you both up." He said as he picked up his student. Sasuke got up slowly, but walked next to Daichi as they headed slowly toward the village.

_I guess Madara was right, I can learn something while I'm here. It will give me the advantage when I fight Naruto. I will win and I will kill him, _thought Sasuke as he limped behind Daichi. He couldn't help but smirk at the thought of finally breaking his bonds with Naruto and relieving himself of his reliance on the woman that lay unconscious in front of him.

The so called "hospital" of the village was a large house. It was run by monks and citizens alike. Sasuke was treated by a young monk who seemed to actually know what he was doing. The medic monk had said he had a couple broken ribs and a small concussion. "Take it easy for a few days, and then you two can beat the crap out of each other again," said the monk with a slight smile.

The room Sasuke was resting in was small. The medic had said he could go back to Kou and Master Daichi's house when they finished some blood work. They had wanted to have some medical records on the Uchiha while he stayed in the village. Sasuke was looking out the window when Daichi walked in and sat down in a chair next to him.

"She's stubborn just like you. You both have a lot in common," said the head monk with a small smile. Sasuke continued to look out the window.

"When they reported what happened at the kage summit I thought you would be a cold, and heartless killer. Now I'm not so sure what you are… and I don't think you're quite sure where you stand either."

Sasuke turned to the monk and glared, "I got my revenge on my brother and the leaf village by killing Danzo. I'm an avenger and what I want, and who I am is none of your business."

"Ah, yes revenge. Funny thing about revenge it never seems to stop. As you find out more about the people who have wronged you, there tend to be more and more people to take revenge on." Daichi closed his eyes, "Isn't that right."

Sasuke look at the old monk wondering what exactly he knew, and wasn't telling him. "I know what I am and who I am. I'll rebuild my clan and the Uchiha name will be restored to its rightful place."

"What place is that, and how do you plan on restoring your clan when you're our prisoner?" asked Daichi opening his eyes and frowning a bit.

Sasuke simply stared at Kou's teacher with no emotion, but on the inside he was confused. _I never thought about that…NO! He's just trying to trick me or something. I can accomplish my goals once I help Madara win this war. _

"I believe you have a lot to settle within yourself, but my warning to you is this. If you hurt my student in any way I will make sure your goals will be impossible to reach, because you will be rotting in a jail or killed by the enemies you have made," said Daichi sternly. "Kou is important to this world in ways you cannot imagine and her life and safety are my top priority."

This was the second time Daichi had threatened Sasuke when it came to Kou. He had been informed she was important; especially to Madara's plans, but what she actually did he did not know. She had briefly explained things in her letters but the details had been vague.

Daichi got up and turned to leave, "I trust Kou when it comes to her judgment of others. She seems to think there is a bit of the old Sasuke within you. I hope she is right."

The monk left to fetch his now conscious student and Sasuke was left in his room to ponder the situation he was in. _I must stick to my mission. That is what is most important. _Why he needed to reassure himself, he didn't know.

_I wanted to get into more detail about Kou and Sasuke's abilities. Next chapter will go into their relationship, which is really nothing but training partners who are using each other to benefit 's right! Kou is as power hungry as Sasuke, but for different reasons obviously. Please review!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry for the delay I just got home from college and the unpacking and job readying has been keeping me busy. This chapter is longer than the previous ones, hopefully that makes up for the delay._

Sasuke sat in his room pondering Daichi's words, _What place is that, and how do you plan on restoring your clan…_

"That old hag he's just trying to trick me. He knows something…but what?" said Sasuke to himself.

Kou and her sensei walked into his hospital room.

"Stop talking to yourself spoiled it's creepy," said Kou with a smirk. She had bandages across her stomach and many cuts and bruises. She was wearing light blue jacket instead of her normal clothes. "Looks like we're both decommissioned for a while."

Sasuke also had bandages around his torso with minor cuts and scrapes up and down his arms. "Hn," was all he replied with.

Let's go home both of you need to rest," Daichi intervened between the two before an argument broke out.

Back at the house Sasuke sat in his bedroom trying to sleep. They had eaten dinner earlier, and Daichi had ordered them to bed afterward. He suddenly heard movement from across the hall. He got up and peered into Kou's room. She was sitting on the floor meditating.

"Care to join me spoiled? You know you need the work and I know you're struggling just to keep your sharingan going right now," said Kou from the floor. She didn't move to acknowledge him.

"Stop calling me that," replied Sasuke disgruntled, as he sat down next to her.

The two meditated for a while when suddenly Sasuke heard a noise. He immediately ducked and spun around to see a clone of Kou. She had just thrown a kunai at him.

"I thought we were supposed to take it easy?" he said without emotion as he got up from the floor.

"Gotta keep ya sharp," was the clones reply as she disappeared. The real Kou remained meditating on the floor.

"You're getting better fast," she said as Sasuke sat back down eyeing her suspiciously.

They sat together meditating until Kou gave a yawn. Well tomorrow we'll pick back up with your training. Maybe we'll even go for a trip," she said with a smile.

Sasuke got up and began to walk out of the room when he noticed a picture on Kou's dresser. "How do you know Naruto?"

The picture contained Kou and Naruto standing together smiling and giving the peace sign. They looked younger than they were now, but older than when Sasuke had left the village.

"Naruto came here with that perv of a sensei to train for two years. He needed my help when controlling the nine tails. He almost killed us a couple times, that fox is not easy to control," replied Kou as she walked over and grabbed the picture. "He never stopped talking about you and Sakura and how he was going to bring you back." There was a silent pause.

"He's strong physically and mentally and he makes everyone around him train harder. He made me train harder, he made me stronger," continued the kunoichi.

**Flashback**

Naruto and Kou were facing off in a sparring match in the forest. Jiraiya and Daichi looked on as their students prepared to attack.

Naruto began by create massive amounts of shadow clones that surrounded Kou. In the beginning of their time training Kou had trouble finding, and fighting against the hyper active ninja's army of clones.

Kou smirked as the clones began to attack. She had learned to utilize her senses to identify where each clone was and where they were attacking from. Her problem was finding which clone was the real Naruto.

Kou used her earth manipulation to counter the clones. As she was caught up in her defense the real Naruto tried to sneak up on his blind friend. With a kunai in hand the blond crept forward.

_That's new. He's actually being patient and developing a strategy, _thought Jiraiya as he smiled at his student.

As the toad sage thought this he saw his student leap into the air with a shrilling battle cry, diving down towards Kou. The blind kunoichi was occupied with the army of clones.

She turned as Naruto dove toward her. The clones also surrounded her and began to charge, _shit_. Kou stood strong and moved her arms in a large circle. The earth shook and crumbled making most of the clones poof away, then rocks soared through the air and formed to Kou's body creating armor.

As Naruto dove toward the armor plated kunoichi, he quickly flipped through the air over her. The remaining clones caught him and helped create a rasengan in his hand. The hyper active ninja ran toward Kou who could not manipulate earth while in her armor. She hoped it would hold against Naruto's attack.

The rasengan hit dead on and blew apart the armor. As the rocks flew the air Kou was thrown backwards. Her connection with the earth was broken while she was in the air and Kou felt helpless.

Naruto jumped from the ground and dove under Kou's body. He and a couple of clones kicked her into the air and performed the Uzumaki barrage. Kou was kicked to the ground by another clone in the air and created a crater. Naruto dismissed his clones and crouched on the ground with a smirk.

"I win!" yelled Naruto as he punched the air. His antics quickly ended when Kou got up from the crater and smirked.

"I won't stop… you never do so neither will I," she panted and grabbed her injured arm. She was covered in cuts and bruises.

Kou went into her stance weakly and Naruto did as well with determination and strength.

_I won't lose, _she thought wiping the blood from her mouth. She charged at Naruto who began to create another rasengan. He charged forward as soon as it was completed.

Kou's hands and eyes began to glow. Her arms and legs were covered with ancient writing. She channeled her energy into her right hand and shouted, "Spirit Palm!"

"Rasengan!" Shouted Naruto as the two shinobi extended their arms. The jutsus connected creating a huge flash. Daichi and Jiraiya covered their faces with their arms.

When the light faded both Naruto and Kou were lying on the ground unconscious. The monk and toad sage walked towards their students.

"They certainly push each other don't they. Naruto is actually thinking" said Jiraiya with a smile.

"Yes Kou has never awakened her spirit energy in its purest form," replied Daichi also smiling. Both masters were extremely impressed with their students' progress.

"So that was the energy in her hands?" questioned the sage as they neared the crater their students remained unconscious in.

"She uses the spirit energy of the earth to create those techniques by combining it with her chakra and using taijutsu to control it. That blast was her own spirit energy that fuses with her chakra to create energy for an attack. This is certainly a step forward in terms of her Spirit Guardian training," explained Daichi. He bent down and picked up his student, Jiraiya did the same with Naruto.

The two continued to talk as they carried their students to the medical house.

"She has been a great help in controlling Naruto's nine tails chakra," said the toad sage.

"I was surprised at the beast's reaction to the seal she created on her hand. It certainly wasn't a perfected seal, but it was strong enough to keep Naruto from losing control," replied the monk.

"The next generation will surpass us in no time, eh old man!" laughed Jiraiya.

"I cannot deny either of those statements. These children truly are amazing, and I am certainly old but I think I could still whip your behind," replied Daichi with a small chuckle.

"I think that's a challenge. What do you say to a small sparring match after we drop off these two?"

"You're on. As Kou likes to say."

The two laughed as they carried their students who did not show signs of waking up any time soon.

**End Flashback**

Kou frowned, she couldn't see the picture but she remembered when it was taken. Naruto was a good friend and an incredible training partner. She would have never reached her current level without him.

Kou placed the picture down, "You have no idea what you left behind you know that."

"Hn," was Sasuke's response as he began to walk away again.

Before he reached his door Kou called to him, "I made a promise to him. I said I would help him get you back."

Sasuke stopped at his door and turned to her, "Don't make promises that are impossible to keep." With that he turned and went back to his room.

Kou stared at his door after hearing it click shut. She whispered to herself, "I never make promises I can't keep." After touching the picture one more time she called it a night and went to sleep.

Kou woke up early the next morning and dressed in her normal clothes. She didn't sleep much that night; actually she didn't sleep much every night. The stress from the war had taken its toll on her. Master Daichi kept telling her the best thing she could do was remain strong and be prepared to fight when necessary, but all she could think about was mastering that sealing jutsu. If she learned how to seal the tailed beasts she could put a stop to Madara's plan and save everyone from a war.

_Stupid fucking sealing technique, stupid fucking spirit guardian, _thought Kou as she sat down on the porch to meditate. She normally didn't curse, but she was frustrated. As she meditated she focused on her surroundings. Keeping her instincts and senses sharp was all in a day's work, but she had to keep everything sharp. She sensed Sasuke coming out of his room and towards her. He came forward and sat down next to her and began to meditate beside her.

"We should go into town and get you some clothes and another sword," said Kou after a while of meditation.

"Hn."

"I want you to try and walk throughout town without your sharingan," she continued with some attitude. _His Hnning is getting annoying. Little spoiled, ungrateful, bastard. _

"Fine should be easy," replied the Uchiha with a smirk.

Kou chuckled, "Don't be too cocky spoiled there's a lot of activity going on around town and your senses are going to be in overload."

"Hn."

After the two finished their meditating they ate and showered, got dressed and began to walk towards the center of the village. Sasuke deactivated his sharingan, took a deep breath and tried to attune his senses to what was going on around him. It was not as easy as he thought.

On top of all the people there were numerous noises and smells coming from the small shops. The village was small, but it was very crowded and packed together tightly. Kou had been right his senses were overwhelmed by the activity in town, but Sasuke refused to activate his kekkei genkai. He thought he had everything figured out until a small child suddenly ran in front of him. The little boy was chasing a ball and had moved too fast for Sasuke to react. The two collided and the boy began to cry.

Kou walked over to the boy and crouched next to him. "It's ok little guy that big dope over there is so clumsy," she said with a giggle.

Sasuke glared at her and stood up. He gave the boy a simple glance and a quick and quiet apology. He walked on only to run into a wall a few feet away. The little boy and Kou both laughed as the Uchiha turned red and punched the wall making it crumble. The little boy became frightened and ran away into the crowd.

"I told you not to get cocky spoiled," said Kou as she walked toward the cranky ninja. "Walls are sometimes the hardest to detect, because they don't make any noise and they don't smell." She began to laugh again and Sasuke glared at her.

"Fine…quit! Whimp out and use your sharingan. Rely on it like you always do," said the kunoichi in a serious tone.

"No wonder you and the dobe got along, you're both annoying," said Sasuke still glaring. He was holding his nose which was thankfully not bleeding. He refused to give into this woman and didn't activate his eyes.

After recovering himself the two walked on. Kou helped Sasuke a little giving him a slight nudge if he was about to hit something. She wouldn't move him out of the way, but the slight touch warned him to focus harder. He ran into a few people and occasionally tripped over a rock or stick, but he seemed to improve as they walked through the village.

After walking for over a half hour the two finally reached their destination. It was a weapons shop, the only one in the whole village. Kou turned to Sasuke and smiled, "It's ok, activate your sharingan you'll probably want to see this."

Sasuke did as he was told and looked around the shop. It was just like the one in his old village's shop with knives, kunai, swords and spears organized on the walls and on shelves. The shop owner emerged from behind a counter, "Lady Kou! So good to see you! You're not normally one to purchase weapons."

Kou laughed, "Like they'd be any good to me Shiro."

The large man, who was bald and had a black beard, hugged the kunoichi. They made small chatter as Sasuke browsed the swords.

"Shiro I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, but do you have the sword I ordered?" asked Kou still smiling.

"Of course my lady it has everything you asked for… although I'm still not sure about giving it to that traitor." The man named Shiro glared at Sasuke, who glared back.

"Shiro I promise if he does anything bad I'll capture him and let you torture him," intervened the kunoichi with a devilish smirk. Sasuke hated that smirk, he had always hated it. She had taunted him with it time and time again when they were young.

"Fine," said the big man as he stomped off to get the sword.

"I thought I was picking a new sword?" asked Sasuke glaring at the blind girl.

"Well I decided to take the liberty of designing and ordering you one… well master Daichi actually put in the order, but that's beside the point. Shiro is a brilliant sword maker you'll like it I promise." Kou smiled at Sasuke without her menacing glare. This was an actual and genuine smile.

Sasuke stood dumbfounded by her behavior; of course he didn't show his confusion on his face. _Why would she do this for me? How did I do anything to deserve this? _

Kou sensed his confusion, "There's no catch spoiled I felt that I owed you since I'm the one who broke your original sword." She turned as Shiro came out with a sheathed sword that was the same size and length as Sasuke's original.

Shiro handed Sasuke the sword with a bow. Sasuke bowed in return and began to examine his new weapon. The case was black and had flames burned into the wood along with his name near the opening. He unsheathed and looked at the blade and handle. The blade was light, lighter than his original and the handle had the Uchiha crest painted on it.

Sasuke was in shock at the sword, this time the emotion actually showed on his face. "It's very well made," was his only reply as he began to slash the air. Kou and Shiro smiled.

"I'm glad you like it. I say we pick you out some new clothes then test it back home," said Kou. _I can't believe I did this for him, he's done nothing to deserve it, but I did break his original… and I wanted to feel his reaction._ Kou shook her head at this thought, _No he's a traitor this sword is just for our training he's a better opponent when he has it. _

Sasuke looked at Kou, he wasn't the kind of guy to say thank you. He looked at the large man and bowed to show respect to the sword maker. Shiro returned the bow and waved as the two left the shop.

Sasuke placed his sword back in the case and placed the case in his rope belt. He deactivated his sharingan as they once again walked out into the busy street. They stopped by a clothing store and Sasuke picked out some new shirts and pants. He didn't need much, but he knew his one outfit wouldn't last long if it was the only thing he wore every day.

"I can pay you back," said Sasuke as they walked out of the clothing store, bags in hand.

"Its fine everyone gives me discounts and I make good money from the missions we go on. There's some perks to being the Spirit Guardian," replied Kou as they neared her house. Sasuke didn't feel like arguing, plus he didn't know if he could truly pay her back. All the Uchiha money had been moved once he deserted the village, and he had no idea about its location.

He became a little curious. "What do you do as the Spirit Guardian? You briefly told me in your letters, but you gave little detail," asked Sasuke without any emotion.

"Curious are we? Gonna sell my secrets to Madara?" said Kou slyly.

Sasuke panicked a little inside, but kept his cool. "I told you I work for no one."

"I was joking spoiled jeez." Kou rolled her eyes and they continued walking toward the house.

"You didn't answer my question," said the Uchiha as they set all his things down in his bedroom.

"You'll get to see tonight," replied the blind kunoichi as she walked out of the room. "C'mon lets test that sword."

Sasuke was shocked at how fast he could move with the new sword. It was strong and cut cleanly. As he swiped through bamboo poles Kou leaned against a pillar on the porch. They were in the backyard of the house and where there was a rock garden and small training area.

_Shiro did an amazing job with that sword I can sense his movement, Sasuke must look good…I mean the sword must look good…I mean…_ Kou stared out across the yard despite not being able to see she knew where Sasuke was by the sound of his slashing. _He's a murderer and a traitor don't you dare forget that._

Sasuke sheathed his sword and turned to Kou who was looking to the ground deep in thought, "What?" he asked coldly.

"Mind your own business spoiled c'mon its time I get to the temple," she replied turning towards the house. Sasuke followed deactivating his sharingan. He was determined to function through everyday life without it, no matter how many walls he ran into.

The two walked through the village slowly. Sasuke was still adjusting to life without sight and occasionally ran into still objects. It hurt his pride a bit, especially since it was in front of a rival, but he continued to walk on hoping that this training would all pay off in the end.

_Once I learn to heighten my senses and I get Itachi's eyes I'll be unstoppable thanks to Kou…thanks to Kou. _He repeated that line in his head multiple times. He was actually thankful for her teaching. She could have killed him that first day and yet she took him in, and was teaching him something she knew he could use against the people she loved. _Why would she do this for me?She knows what I did at the summit and to Danzo, and probably to Karin, Naruto and Sakura. Why would she help me?_

Sasuke was thrown from his thoughts when he once again knocked into a barrel containing some sort of liquid. He determined it to be wine when he smelled it. _Fuck._

After dusting himself off and Kou laughing at him a bit they reached the temple. Sasuke activated his sharingan before entering. The temple was huge compared to the other buildings in the village, and was very elaborate. There were paintings on the wall telling some sort of story, and statues of random people Sasuke didn't know. There was a large room in the center and it had a giant golden Buddha statue. The Buddha was sitting in meditation but in between his hands was a gate looking shape.

Kou and Sasuke were greated by Master Daichi who was standing in the middle of the room. He called for them to come forward.

"Sasuke you and I must wait outside the entrance," said the old monk calmly. He turned to Kou, "The spirit elders wish to meet with you tonight."

"Do I have a mission?" asked the kunoichi quizzically.

"No because of the war your missions will be put on hold. I'm actually not sure what they want to talk about," he replied.

"Whatever I'm sure they'll just bitch about how I haven't learned the sealing technique," Kou replied closing her eyes and shrugging.

"Show respect Kou. Sasuke and I will wait outside; knock when you're ready to come out." Daichi and Sasuke began to walk away as Kou settled herself beneath the giant statue. She sat cross legged and placed her hands in front of her like she was praying.

Before the two men reached the door they turned to see Kou glowing and the tattoos from when she fired her soul shot appeared on her hands, feet and forehead.

"The markings go up her arms and legs, then down her back. They stem from a lotus tattoo which acts as a seal," explained Daichi. "They're glowing that means she has entered Spirit World. We must remain out of the room for the time being so as not to interfere."

Daichi closed the door behind them and sat on a bench across from the entrance. Sasuke leaned up against a wall opposite the old man.

"I thought only the dead went to Spirit World," asked Sasuke with little care in his voice. He had his eyes closed and his arms cross.

"Spirit World is much more elaborate than just a place for the dead to go. There are four sections within the world, the demon realm, spirit realm, the realm of the pure, and the realm of the punished. Each realm houses different beings and all these places are connected through portals. These portals are guarded by the Spirit Elders," explained the old monk.

Sasuke actually looked up with a little interest. "Where does Kou fit in with all this?"

"All the realms are also connected to one portal that leads to this world. It is Kou's job to protect this world from evil demons who try to trespass and cause havoc. These demons range in power from simple slugs to tailed beasts. The nine tailed beasts were originally rulers of the demon realm and were created by the Spirit Guardians before Kou. The demons ended up fighting amongst themselves and almost started a war that would have destroyed all the realms, including ours. One of Kou's ancestors sealed the beasts within nine powerful shinobi who were strong enough to control them and contain them. The sealing technique that Kou has yet to master would allow her to re-seal the beasts into humans, which makes her an enemy to Madara Uchiha."

Daichi finished this explanation and sighed. Sasuke looked on with a slightly shocking look. He wasn't one to show a lot of emotion, but this explained why Madara wanted Kou so badly. He quickly shook himself of this shock and asked, "What about the other realms?"

"The Spirit Realm is the place where good spirits from this earth reside. They can come and go as they please and take the shape of animals, plants, rocks, mountains etcetera. Kou connects to these spirits and uses their energy when performing the Soul Shout. She gathers the spirit energy and combines it with her chakra to form a powerful energy that shoots from her fingers. The realm of the pure and realm of the punished are the areas where the dead's souls go. Evil doers go to the realm of the punished and good people go to the realm of the pure. Kou can actually use a jutsu to talk to the dead."

This last sentence sparked Sasuke's interest even more. _She can contact the dead that means she could talk to Itachi or the members of my clan! _

"Before you get ahead of yourself Uchiha the dead must contact Kou first not the other way around. If your family wishes to talk to you they will contact her and you could speak to them through her connection," said Daichi as if reading Sasuke's mind.

"Hn," was the Uchiha's only reply and he leaned against the wall once again and closed his eyes. _It seems she could be more useful to me than just a teacher and training partner. Perhaps I will wait a while to bring her to Madara. _

The two men sat in silence and waited for the blind kunoichi to return from her trip to the spirit world.


	6. Chapter 6

_Here's the next chapter it takes place in Spirit World with Kou and the Spirit Elders. Thank You for all the reviews!_

Kou sat beneath the Buddha statue cross legged and placed her hands in front of her like she was praying. She focused her chakra to the gate in the Buddha's hands and chanted a mantra. Her eyes began to glow and the seal on her back began to burn as the marking spread across her arms and legs. Her mind went blank and she felt like she was being pulled from all sides. When she opened her eyes she could see the room she had been transported to.

She always marveled at how she could actually see in this place. For some reason when she entered Spirit World she got her eye sight back. The trade off was she could not form jutsus while here. She took in the room it was like a banquet hall and had a large, fancy table with equally large and fancy chairs surrounding it. There were five chairs and they were a dark wood color with a maroon cushion. The table had intricate designs on the sides and legs. It matched the chairs with its dark wood.

Kou too her place and stared at the giant chandelier hanging on the ceiling and centered on the table. It was bright and began to glow blue. There was a flash and as the smoke cleared four figures also sat at the table with Kou.

To Kou's right was a Tiger looking creature who had white fur and green robes. He was Jian the guardian of the Demon Realm and all its gates. He had yellow eyes and a hardened face. The demon realm was the hardest control, because it had the greatest number of inhabitants although they were typically weaker than the other realms. Many demons escaped passed Jian's watch and entered the human world. Demons loved to reek havoc on the weak humans, and it was Kou's job to send them back. Jian was not evil or mean, but he was a tad grumpy and reminded Kou of Sasuke. _You'd be grumpy too if you had to constantly deal with those stupid demons_, thought Kou to herself.

Across from Kou was the Phoenix spirit elder, Mei. She had red and yellow feathers and wore a white robe. Her eyes were an electric blue and Kou knew for a fact her talons and beak were among the sharpest weapons between all the realms. She was the guardian of the realm of the punished. It was her job to enforce the gates, but to also provide the punishment to the evil souls that resided there. Because of her duties Mei was a fierce being and could sometimes be too hard on the people around her. She sometimes came off as insulting, but Kou knew to take whatever she said with a grain of salt.

To Mei's right was the Turtle spirit elder Ru. He had a large purple shell on his back and had black skin. He wore a dark purple robe, but his shell remained exposed. He also wore glasses and was considered one of the best scholars in all of spirit world. He was the guardian of the realm of the pure. His main job was to make sure those who reached the realm were sent to their proper place in the afterlife, along with protecting the various gates of the realm. The Spirit World was not the end stop for the souls of the dead, unless they were sent to the realm of the punished. It was more of a gateway to the unknown world that the dead rested in peace.

Finally at the head of the table was the mighty dragon Longwei. He was blue and had a white belly. He had a light blue robe and was considered the leader of the spirit elders. He was the guardian of the Spirit Realm. He allowed many of its inhabitants to enter the human world and take various forms of life. Spirit Realm and Demon Realm were known enemies and he was the main reason they remained balanced and at peace. Longwei stared at the four beings in front of him and nodded his head, "I believe it is time for us to begin." His voice was deep and calming. "Welcome Lady Kou. I trust there were no problems getting here."

"None at all Master Longwei…so why am I here?" asked Kou. She was a little impatient today. She knew her body was vulnerable while her soul was here in spirit world. If her body on earth was moved away from the Buddha statue she would not be able to return home. _Sasuke better not try anything funny, but I know Master Daichi will take care of me. Then again I don't think he's any match for Sasuke._

"Impatient aren't we little brat!" snapped Mei.

"Grouchy as always fire bitch," replied Jian rolling his eyes.

Kou knew a fight was about to erupt and crossed her arms with a sigh. She waited for the two elders to stop glaring at one another. Ru held his hands in front of him and begged his fellow guardians to remain calm.

"Jian you know what the doctors have said about your blood pressure," said Ru with a hint of fear.

"Oh shut it four eyes I'm in peak condition!" yelled Jian across the table.

"Your demons don't seem to think so if you had any power what so ever they might actually fear you and stop escaping. How many got out today my brother?" asked Mei with an evil smirk.

"My siblings please we must speak to Lady Kou about the situation at hand. Leave your personal battles for another day," interjected Longwei he held his hands to his head rubbing his temples.

"Fine," sighed the other elders. All four faced Kou.

"Lady Kou it has come to our attention that Sasuke Uchiha is living in your house," said the dragon with a hardened voice.

"Yea, and…?" said Kou with little interest. The elders were beginning to test her patience.

"What the hell is that murderer doing near the temple? He could kill you and steal the statue. Or take you to Madara. We lose you we lose the war you brat!" yelled the Pheonix

"Oh yes Master Mei one man could move a three ton statue by himself," replied Kou sarcastically.

"Hold your tongue you foolish girl do not underestimate an Uchiha," spat Jian.

"I'm afraid Jian has a point Lady Kou according to history the Sharingan is quite possibly the most powerful kekkei genkai," said Ru hiding behind his hands slightly.

"I'm aware of all the possibilities…"

Kou couldn't finish her sentence before the three spirits began shouting at her and each other. Kou sat back in her chair and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Brothers! Sister! Please let's hear what the spirit guardian has to say. After all she and Sasuke were once very good friends," said Longwei sternly. He gave a glare to his siblings before gesturing Kou to continue.

"As I was saying, I'm very aware of all the possibilities that could arise from Sasuke being allowed to stay in the village. Master Daichi and I are keeping an eye on him and the other ninja monks have been supportive in the effort to contain him," said the kunoichi calmly.

"Why would you even allow a traitor like him to stay in the village? He is a cold hearted murderer he is not the same Sasuke you once knew," shouted Jian.

"How do you Know! You haven't even thought about the possibility of him turning out alright! I want to help him! I want to teach him that power stemming from love is more powerful than hatred. How am I to do that if I just let him rot in jail or be killed. He could make an important and powerful ally in bringing Madara down," Kou finished this statement and leaned back in her chair waiting for the reply.

"Lady Kou do you truly believe you can change a man who has based his entire life on seeking revenge?" asked the wise dragon.

"I…I know that there is some of the old Sasuke in there. He has had a few opportunities to simply knock me out and haul me to Madara's lair, but he hasn't. He wants to learn my techniques because he is blind…

"So he can use them against us!" argued Mei.

"No! Uchiha men have never been the type of people to ask for help. He is different. He's in there somewhere I just want to help him. Plus he's an incredible training partner. I think he could help me more than Naruto did," Kou finished and let the decision be made. She had nothing left to say. She knew Sasuke was a murderer and a traitor and she could never forget that, but she could forgive him if he proved he could rise above his hateful ways. She knew she could help him through her teachings, and Master Daichi knew it too. He would help her, he trusted her judgment.

"I think we should kill him!" stated Mei

"I agree with the flaming bitch for once," sighed Jian. Mei glared across the table.

"I think Lady Kou has presented a valid argument, but I am hesitant…What do you think Longwei? Asked Ru

There was a long pause and everyone turned to Longwei. He sat in thought and stared at Kou.

"If Daichi trusts your judgment then I will allow you to continue in your quest to help Sasuke, but he must help you learn the sealing technique. The war will begin in five months; you have very little time to be distracted," stated the dragon. "We also have new information for you. Master Ru please explain."

"Right… well we have information from allied spies that Kabuto, Orochimaru's most loyal follower has somehow absorbed a part of the sanin. He has joined forces with Madara Uchiha."

"What!" yelled the kunoichi she was growing nervous.

"He has learned the impure world resurrection technique and who knows what else. The technique brings people back from the dead and the summoner can control the dead's bodies." Ru hid his face once more.

"What does this have to do with me?" asked Kou.

"It means not only must Madara be killed, but we must also take into account Kabuto," said Longwei.

"We have also learned Madara's plans for this war. He will be using the Sharingan and the Rinnegan together, along with the power from the nine tailed beasts to create the ten tailed beast. He then wishes to become the ten tail's jinchūriki, which will give him the power to project his Sharingan on the moon. By doing this he can control every living creature on the planet," continued Ru.

"The bastard revealed his plan to the kages at the kage summit," scoffed Mei.

"So now it is even more important to learn the sealing technique. If you can seal the beasts in demon world temporarily until you can find other jinchuriki, then we can prevent the Eye of the Moon technique from taking place. The next step would be to kill Madara before he could gain access to the tailed beasts again," explained Longwei

"You would also have to destroy Madara's body once you kill him," added Jian.

Kou sighed and rolled her eyes, "Great just more work for me and Naruto."

"You awful spoiled child! Yelled Mei.

"Oh calm down Master Mei, if I can get Sasuke on our side we'll stand more of a chance," shot back Kou.

"Everyone calm down. Lady Kou we will give you some time to take this all in. You must master the sealing technique first after that we can go from there," stated the dragon calmly.

Kou took this all in and closed her eyes. She sighed, lifted her head, and gazed at Longwei. He looked sympathetically into her eyes. She nodded and understood this was just how her life was supposed to be. "I will do what is required of me," said Kou feeling exhausted.

Everyone at the table nodded and stood. They bowed and suddenly there was a flash of light, Mei, Jian and Ru disappeared from the room. Longwei lingered, "Lady Kou I am deeply sorry that we have placed such a burden on you." He bowed once more and left Kou standing in the room.

She formed a few hand signs and yelled "Return!" there was another flash of light and she felt her body being pulled towards earth. She blinked, everything was black and she knew she was back in her regular body.

Kou stood and wiped the tears from her face. She certainly couldn't let Sasuke see her crying. There was a lot of pressure on her and sometimes she just couldn't fathom it. The kunoichi got a hold of herself and walked to the door. When she opened it she saw her teacher meditating on the floor and Sasuke leaning up against a wall, "Bout time," he said with annoyance.

Kou was already pissed off from her encounter with the elders, now she was about to explode. She took and deep breath and slapped the Uchiha across the face. She had been so quick and it was so unexpected he had, had no time to react. Daichi looked up from his meditation and stared at the two with interest. Sasuke stared in shock at the woman in front of him.

"Shut up! I stuck up for you! they wanted to kill you and would have had no problems accomplishing that task. Stop it with this tough guy attitude I know you're just hiding behind it." Kou was breathing heavy from frustration.

Sasuke's shocked expression disappeared into an angry one, but before he could respond Kou disappeared into a pile of pebbles.

"That's her transportation technique. They must have really bothered her about the sealing technique," said Daichi as he rose from his seated position. He sighed, "She's under a lot of pressure from them and if they had truly wanted to kill you they could have done it easily. The four Spirit Guardians have power even greater than the tailed beasts."

Sasuke looked to wall across from him, _why does she keep doing things to help me?_

Daichi stared at the boy in front of him. Between himself and his student they had certainly started placing some doubt in the Uchiha's brain in a very short amount of time. "Fetch her for me will you. You both need to sleep to keep up your strength."

Sasuke was shaken out of his thoughts, "Where is she?"

"I suggest you turn off that sharingan and sense her out. It won't be too hard to find her if she's upset." Daichi turned to leave and gave a wave behind him to Sasuke.

"Stupid old man ordering me around," whispered the Uchiha under his breath. He turned down another hallway and found himself outside the temple. He did as he was instructed and turned his sharingan off. He concentrated and opened his senses. That's when he heard it… huge crashes coming from the east. That's where the waterfall was in the forest, and he had a good idea that it was Kou. He turned towards the direction of the noise and began to walk.

It didn't take Sasuke long to find a very angry kunoichi in the waterfall's clearing. He had walked through the village and ran up the side of the canyon. He entered the woods and continued to follow the sound of crashing that became louder with each step. He stood behind a bush and re-activated his sharingan. Kou was standing on top of the pool of water that formed at the base of the water fall. She was summoning rocks from beneath the water and throwing them through the waterfall where they hit the stone behind it.

Kou knew he was heading her way and didn't care. If he spoke to her in the same manner he had back at the temple she would surly throw the largest boulder she could summon and make sure she didn't miss.

"What do you want spoiled?" asked the blind kunoichi in between breaths. She was almost panting. She was furious and using a lot of energy.

"The old man sent me. Said I should bring you back to the house so we can rest. Apparently we have training to do tomorrow," replied Sasuke as he walked out from the bushes.

Kou sighed threw one more rock and began walking towards the Uchiha, "I'm sure the doctors won't be too happy about that." She gave a small smirk.

Sasuke responded with a slight chuckle and began walking back into the woods.

"You found me without your sharingan… that's pretty impressive. You're learning really quickly. It took me much longer than you to get to this point," said Kou rubbing the back of her head with her hand.

"Further proving I am better than you," he replied with a smirk.

Kou returned this with a smile and laughed, "You know you actually just made me feel better whether you meant to or not. You always were the best at that."

"Hn."

"You're not so tough I could kick your ass any day. I always could," she said as they both began to walk through the woods. Sasuke had deactivated his sharingan.

"I let you win," scoffed the Uchiha.

Kou laughed and smirked, "Yea…right." Her expression became more serious, "They really did want to kill you. They were afraid you planned to take me to Madara." Kou stopped and looked in his direction.

He also paused and could feel her stare, _they know. _He kept his heart rate under control, but he knew he was slightly panicked, and hoped she didn't notice. "Why didn't they just do it?" he replied without emotion.

She smiled, "I told them the old Sasuke was still inside you."

He looked at the ground, "It's not wise to lie to people that powerful."

"I don't think it's a lie. Like just back there you could have snuck up behind me and knocked me out. You know how to now, but you didn't." Kou sighed and continued walking.

_She's right I could have. Why didn't I? I just stood there and stared at her…idiot. It won't happen again. _Sasuke looked up from his thoughts and followed the kunoichi to the village.

She created her earth elevator and they hopped off and headed toward the house. The villagers were closing up their shops and things were beginning to quiet down. The stars and moon were already out and both ninja could feel a drop in temperature.

When they reached the house they were greeted by Daichi who simply asked Kou if she felt better. She nodded her head and everyone headed for their bedrooms.

Just before Sasuke and Kou split up Kou turned, "Your brother contacted me through a dream last night. He wants to talk to you."

Sasuke didn't face her. He hid his shock from her despite knowing she couldn't see his face. "When?" he asked calmly.

"In two weeks. The moon will be full then, that's when my connection to the spirit world is at its peak," she responded with some sadness. She knew what this was doing to him. She knew how messed up he was after he found out what his brother had done for the Leaf village. She hoped this meeting would bring Sasuke and his brother peace.

"Thank you." Sasuke almost never thanked anyone, but he didn't know what to say. He truly was thankful that she would do something like that for him. He closed his door behind him and found that he was more exhausted then he thought. The Uchiha fell asleep quickly and dreamed of Itachi all night.

Kou also fell asleep exhausted, but she had hope. Something she hadn't had about Sasuke for a long time. She whispered to herself, "You're welcome…Thank you for helping me more than you know."


	7. Chapter 7

_Hope I'm updating enough for everyone's liking things are getting busy with work starting but I'm doing the best I can. _

Sasuke waited outside the temple in the center of the village. He sat in meditation and focused on his surroundings. The full moon shone bright in the sky and the night air made everything cool and calm. He was waiting for Kou to emerge and they would begin the process of contacting Itachi's soul.

For two weeks Sasuke and Kou had trained rigorously under Master Daichi's watch. Instead of constantly going all out like they had done the first two days the Uchiha had arrived. The meeting with Itachi constantly weighed on his mind, but he remained focused on his training. He had to because Kou would make him pay dearly anytime he was distracted for a fraction of a second.

In the mornings Sasuke would practice his meditation and focusing his senses, while Kou went off with her teacher to train. He had a feeling Daichi was not comfortable with the Uchiha seeing Kou practice the sealing technique. It didn't matter to Sasuke much anyway; he had his own techniques to learn.

He was learning fast how to function without his sight and was impressing both Daichi and Kou. One morning Kou had woke him up earlier than usual to teach him a skill she knew he needed, and seemed to be simple, but proved to be his most difficult task yet.

**Flashback**

Sasuke had been in a deep dreamless sleep. After their training session the previous evening he had been exhausted. He hadn't been this exhausted since he first began training with Orochimaru, of course he hadn't projected this exhaustion on his face while he was with Kou and her master. She never exhibited any type of fatigue in front of him, so of course he had to match this toughness. _Can't let a little blind girl be tougher than me, _was his constant thought process when all he wanted to do was collapse on the ground.

Here he was though, in his bed, finally sleeping, and suddenly he felt a shake. He ignored it at first savoring his warm bed, but the shaking became more vigorous. He groaned and sat up. He activated his sharingan out of habit and quickly saw Kou sitting beside him on the bed, dressed and ready to train.

"C'mon spoiled before we start our normal schedules I want to teach you something important," she said with a yawn quickly followed by a smirk.

"What is it?" he asked coldly. He wasn't too thrilled to be up this early, but knew if she had something to teach him, it may make this interruption worthwhile.

"We're going to learn how to make a wonderful delicious pancake breakfast, but you can't use your sharingan," responded the kunoichi as she rose from the bed. She started to walk out of the room, but turned quickly "Trust me this will help you on your way to learning how to fight without your eye sight."

At first Sasuke thought about ignoring her but this last statement perked his interest. He wasn't sure how learning to cook would help him fight, but he was awake and knew he wouldn't fall back asleep.

Finding ingredients and stirring them had seemed easy enough, but measuring and flipping the pancakes proved to be very difficult. Kou had also taught him to register temperatures by using his sense of touch. The kitchen was a mess after many spills, and Sasuke's fingers hurt from minor burns. Kou had laughed at his numerous failed flap jacks, but she was patient with him. Eventually they had made enough pancakes to feed them both, but they were a little misshapen.

As they sat and ate together Kou looked up and could sense the Uchiha eating without the use of his sharingan. This was one of the first times he had done this without spilling something all over his shirt. The other day they had gone shopping for more clothes for Sasuke, because he had ruined so many shirts. Kou didn't mind at all, this was all part of functioning blind. She had ruined countless items of clothing and still did sometimes.

"Don't get frustrated spoiled I promise it gets easier," she smiled.

"Hn," was his only reply. He was still a little cranky from the early wake up call, but was satisfied that he had accomplished the cooking tasked.

They ate and cleaned up before Master Daichi came in from alms round. He helped them clean the rest of the kitchen before they went out to train. He had been impressed that the Uchiha had taken the time to learn such a simple task from his student. In fact Sasuke had listened to Kou without much complaint since he began training with her. He figured the boy was desperate enough to do anything in order to function through life without relying on something.

He was also surprised to find the two chatting about jutsus and other ninja topics. The boy had also become more talkative towards Kou, and he usually found them talking about various subjects, as long as it pertained to training or ninja work of course. None the less he found Sasuke to be more relaxed around them, and he was happy to see his student so happy. Her focus on her training had greatly improved these past two weeks, and she was getting stronger. He smiled to himself as he watched the two ninja talk about Sasuke's jutsu Kirin. _There is hope for this boy yet._

**End Flashback**

Sasuke continued to meditate as he waited Kou to call for him. He couldn't help, but be a little nervous. She had sensed his anxiety while they were walking over to the temple, despite the fact he had done his best to hide it.

**Flashback**

Kou and Sasuke were walking down the street as the shop keepers began to pack up their stalls. Many smiled and waved as Kou walked by them, at the same time they would glare at Sasuke. He knew they were glaring despite the fact he couldn't see them, but he simply didn't care. He had other things to worry about.

The Uchiha ducked out of the way when a construction worker passed by them with a long wooden plank over his shoulder. Kou smirk a little, "Nice. You're doing a lot better out in the village."

"What the hell is wrong with these people can't they see us walking here," he scoffed as the construction worker passed them.

"They might be testing you a bit. They all know why you're here," she replied.

"Or they just wanna see me fall on my ass."

"That too," laughed Kou.

They continued walking as the temple drew near Sasuke took a deep breath that was not missed by the kunoichi.

She frowned a little, "Nervous?"

"No," he responded defensively.

"Liar. It's ok to be nervous. After all you're the one that killed him," she smirked his least favorite smirk. Although he couldn't see her he could feel it.

"Shut up. You don't know anything about him," he stopped and was beginning to lose his patience. Normally he wouldn't care, but tonight he was a little on edge.

"Apparently you didn't know anything about him either," replied Kou behind her as she continued to walk.

Sasuke took these words in and realized she was right. He had thought he had known his brother better than anyone, but in fact he had truly known nothing at all. He began walking again and caught up to the kunoichi. They walked in silence until they reached the door.

"Wait here I have to establish a connection with his soul in Spirit World once that's done I'll call you in," she instructed. He didn't reply, he just walked to the corner of the porch and sat down and meditated.

Kou shook her head as he walked away. She knew she had been a little hard on him on the way here, but she didn't know how else to be when it came to her former best friend. She was trying so hard to stay objective with her feelings towards him, but she also knew it was a bit of an act. She desperately wanted the old Sasuke back, but she also knew there was a chance he was lost for good. He had made some progress when it came to being social with her, but all they ever talked about was ninja related. She didn't mind at least it was something, but still it gave her a little hope. She walked into the doors and made her way towards the Buddha statue.

**End Flashback**

Sasuke heard the door behind him creak open knew it was time. Master Daichi walked towards him and tapped him on the shoulder, "Are you ready?"

"Hn," was his only response. He felt his body growing colder as he walked towards the room he knew Kou was in. He felt his palms become sweaty and he had butterflies in his stomach.

He activated his sharingan when he walked into the room and saw Kou sitting on the floor. Her eyes were glowing and the tattoos were on her hands, feet and neck. He waited for instructions from either her or Daichi.

"Go over to her and place your hands over hers. Focus your energy into your hands and your soul will enter Spirit World while your body remains here," instructed the old monk from the doorway. "I will be here to watch over your bodies, because they are vulnerable while the soul is away."

Sasuke knelt on his knees in front of Kou and placed his hands over hers. She was so warm and he felt an unexplainable sensation come over him. He shivered a little and felt the hairs on his body stand up. He focused, and felt a pull from out of nowhere. He opened his eyes and found that he could see without his sharingan. He found himself in blackness with only a single lamp post for light. There he saw his brother and Kou standing and staring at him.

He could tell they had been talking and began to walk towards them. His butterfly filled stomach began to tighten and he felt his eyes grow wide as he walked. He stopped mere feet from the man he had slain. There was his brother looking perfectly fine. No blood and no bruises.

Itachi Uchiha stood before his younger brother wearing a white v-neck t-shirt and white pants. He was barefoot and seemed to have a glow about him. Kou stood beside Itachi and waited for one of them to make a move.

She couldn't stand the awkward silence as the two brothers simply stared at each other. She rocked on her heels and toes and sighed heavily, "Sooooooo how bout I give you guys some privacy?"

"You can do that?" asked Itachi quizzically. He finally broke away from his stare down with his younger brother.

"Yes I can keep the connection up from the temple, but I warn you I can only give you guys an hour," she frowned a little. She wanted to give them as much time as they wanted, but the jutsu had its limits. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine Kou an hour is plenty. Thank you for responding so quickly to my message," responded Itachi with a smile. Sasuke continued to stare at his brother wide eyed. His thoughts raced a mile a minute. He didn't even notice Kou walk by him as she left the two Uchihas to themselves.

"We can sit down if you like little brother," said the older Uchiha finally. Sasuke could only nod as they sat down across from each other.

"I know Madara has explained everything to you, but I want to…."

"Why? Why did you do all this? Why did you kill everyone, but me for our village? How could you do that?" Sasuke was shaking and yelling. He could not seem to control his emotions very well in this situation.

"Sasuke let me explain everything, please," said Itachi with a softened face. He knew why his brother was angry and he knew it was rightfully so. He paused to allow Sasuke to calm down.

"I killed our clan, because they were going to uproot the entire village. We had just recovered from a major war and the mutiny would have been devastating to our people," explained Itachi calmly. Sasuke let him talk this time; he needed to know the truth.

"I made a vow from the time I left the academy to protect the leaf village and its people no matter the cost," he continued.

"What about mom and all the children! They were innocent!" Sasuke felt his blood boiling.

"No one in our clan was innocent. I had planned on sparing mother but she was so dedicated to our father that she demanded to be killed by his side. As for the children they were going to grow up with the same philosophy as their parents. If there had been any infants I would have spared them as well," replied a still calm Itachi. He paused to see if Sasuke would argue again, but when there was no reply he continued.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Madara was going to destroy the village as well if I didn't do it, but I spared you. I wanted you to kill me and bring respect back to our clan name, but I have only recently found out about how you gained your power and what you've done since my death. That's why I had Kou bring us together. I wanted to talk to you for so long, but I had no way to contact you. Once I heard you were at the temple with Kou I took this chance. Sasuke I only get one chance to talk to you after this I will pass on through the Spirit World. Where I'm going I don't know. I thought for sure I would go to the realm of the punished, but perhaps the elders forgave me and thought the torture I went through in Akatsuki was enough."

"What do you want from me? Haven't I already done what you wanted? I killed my own brother! I gave up everything in order to accomplish that! I did all you asked of me!" Sasuke was on the brink of tears. Here he was in front of his brother for the first time since the fight and all Itachi wanted was to give him more instructions and a lecture.

"Sasuke hear me out please. You did everything I asked of you. I knew you would go to Orochimaru. I wasn't happy about it, but I thought you would go back to the village and help defeat Madara after you killed me. I thought you had the same beliefs I did about the village," sighed the older Uchiha he also seemed to be on the brink of tears.

"You were wrong. They held me back. They killed you for God's sake and ordered the slaughter of my entire family!" shot back Sasuke.

"Sasuke they were doing what was right for the village. They tried everything they could to reason with father, but he wouldn't listen. My brother you are the most powerful ninja our clan has ever produced. That fact was proven the minute you killed me. I want you to use your skills to protect the village," Itachi replied half begging. An Uchiha never begged but this was different.

"How can I do that? I want revenge on them for your death! I want to avenge you and all you care about is the very village that led to your death." Sasuke now felt tears streaming down his face. He had lost all control and he didn't care.

"Our village is the key to peace. Revenge is a disease my brother. You will find yourself never being satisfied with your life. You will suffer incredibly if you continue on this path. You may become the strongest ninja in the world, but if you do not learn to love and fight for peace, you will never truly be strong."

"You fool! I have gotten this far based on hate and revenge! Why should I change now?" spat Sasuke.

"I know it all doesn't make sense now, but I know people like Naruto and Kou will show you the way. I talked to her before she left. She loves you, I know it. She would never go out of her way this much for anyone… except you, and Naruto even now he is fighting for you. You have these people in your life Sasuke, these beautiful people don't lose them," pleaded Itachi. "These are the people that will make you strong."

Sasuke stared at his brother in disbelief. He didn't know what to think. Everything he had done up to this point was now being called into question. His whole purpose in life was now being criticized by the very person that fueled his revenge.

"I know what Madara wants you to do with Kou. I ask this of you, don't give her to him. She along with Naruto are the only people who can bring the world peace. They need your help though. Please my brother help them."

Sasuke still stared in disbelief. He didn't know what to do should he give up on his revenge. Give up on destroying the leaf village and help the very people he wanted to remain distant from. Or should he do as his older brother asked and finish what Itachi had started. They remained silent and Sasuke asked and occasional question about what Itachi had gone through while in Akatsuki. Itachi explained their missions and about Madara's true plan.

Sasuke felt like a simple tool. Madara had only one desire and he would gladly kill Sasuke in order to achieve it. Sasuke still couldn't figure this all out he felt so confused and angry, but at the same time there was a little bit of relief. He was relieved to talk to his brother.

"At least think about my request, that's all I can ask of you. I'm sorry but I know our time is almost up. I wish we had more time I didn't want this to be a shouting match, but I know you're angry and confused. Sasuke I promise you if you learn to fight in the name of peace and love you will be the most powerful ninja in the world, and the happiest," said Itachi as he began to fade.

Sasuke stood up and reached out to his brother, "No! Please I need you!"

Itachi stood and walked towards his brother as he continued to fade. He embraced Sasuke in a hug and whispered in his ear, "I'm proud of you, but you still have a lot to do. Please Sasuke I just want you to be happy and I know Kou and Naruto will help you."

Itachi stepped back from his brother and began walking backwards. He smiled, "Mom and Dad will be in touch with you soon, but only if you improve. Mom won't be able to handle it if she sees you so hate filled. They love you…I love you. Please think wisely about what I've said."

With these final words Itachi disappeared and Sasuke felt another pulling sensation. He awoke lying on the ground and all he saw was blackness. He was blind again and felt panicked. Kou was kneeling next to him with her hand on his shoulder, "Sasuke are you alright?"

He could sense the worry in her voice but he felt no comfort from her. He just felt anger and confusion. He jumped up and activated his sharingan. He ran away from Kou and out of the temple. He just kept running with his thoughts racing wildly. He ran up the cliff and into the woods. He ran until he reached the clearing where the waterfall was. He stopped and stared, this is where Kou went when she felt angry and he thought it might help him as well.

He stepped into the water and didn't walk on top of it. He removed his shirt and dove in. he floated at the top of the water and sighed. He began to meditate and sensed Kou running towards the clearing. She stopped and sensed his presence in the water. She sat on the shore line where the water met land and also began to meditate.

"I thought you had left for good spoiled, but I'm glad you came here. It's a wonderful place to relieve stress," she said after an hour of silence.

"You can join me if you like," was his reply. He was glad she had left him alone, but for some reason he wanted her next to him.

Kou removed her shirt and was in a sports bra and her spandex shorts. She waded into the water carefully and floated next to Sasuke on her back. They laid there for a long time and meditated. Bother were relaxed and Sasuke still felt confused, but for some reason her simply being there made him at ease. He turned to her and whispered, "Thank You."

"My pleasure. I knew you needed to see him," she replied with kindness, her eyes still closed.

They continued to float for another half hour until she turned to him, "let's go back."

He didn't reply he simple stood on top of the water as she did and they walked to the shore. They grabbed their clothes and head back for the village remaining silent.

Sasuke reached his bed and fell asleep immediately. Kou and Daichi stayed up for a while longer in the kitchen. They sat together at the table talking quietly.

"I listened in on the whole thing. I feel bad, but I had to," said Kou sadly. "Itachi said something about a plan that Sasuke's supposed to carry out for Madara."

"I knew it. I knew he was here for a reason other than training," replied Daichi a little pissed off.

"Master I don't think he's going to do it. Itachi really wants him to help Naruto and me…"

"Yes but will he do it. He's been in the revenge business a long time," interrupted the monk.

"Master I sensed his thoughts while we were in the water. I can't read them obviously, but he's so confused. I really think Itachi has put a lot of doubt in his head," replied Kou desperately. "I know we can help him now. Itachi asked me to, he told me to help Sasuke find his way towards the light. Naruto wanted it too."

"What do you have in mind my lady," asked Daichi as he sat in his favorite thinking position. His hand was under his chin with his index finger pointing across it.

"If he learns that strength stemming from love is more powerful than basing your life around hate, than he will want to be happy. He knows he's not truly happy right now, we put that doubt in him the moment he started to become comfortable around us," explained Kou as she half pleaded with her sensei.

"Lady Kou you are wise beyond your years… and you have your mother's kindness," smiled the monk.

"Thank you master. I think I have a plan. Do you think the other monks will help?" asked the kunoichi as she smiled shyly after her master's compliment.

"If it means helping you, and making you happy you know these men would give their lives," stated Daichi with confidence. Kou blushed a little. She knew the monks all treated her like a daughter or a sister.

"Plus if we have that boy on our side during this war it would be incredibly helpful," continued the monk getting more serious.

"I agree. Naruto and I can't do this alone," said Kou also getting serious.

"Kou, you and Naruto are never alone." Daichi got up and embraced his student. After they broke apart Kou stood and the two discussed their plan of action in whispers before Daichi sent his student to bed and he also headed towards his room.

"Kou I think you both deserve a day off tomorrow," he said over his shoulder with a smile.

"Thanks master Daichi," she replied returning the smile. Before she got ready for bed the kunoichi silently opened Sasuke's door and could sense he was in a deep sleep. She smiled and closed the door. _Good night spoiled I hope this plan works...for all our sakes._


	8. Chapter 8

Two months had passed since Sasuke had arrived to the Village Hidden at the Gate, and he was beginning to use his sharingan less and less. There were situations when he felt more comfortable using it to see, but when it came to everyday activities like cooking, cleaning and walking around the village he found it easy to rely on his other senses.

The hard part of his training was just beginning though. Despite his confidence in his other senses during everyday life, his fighting ability while blind was lacking. Kou was patient with him. When he sat meditating he could dodge and block her attacks with ease, but when it came to moving through the trees or on the ground he found his senses in overload. He frequently got his ass kicked by the blind kunoichi, but he had made some progress.

In the beginning Sasuke had thought learning to fight blind was not necessary, because he had relied on Madara transplanting Itachi's eyes into his once he delivered Kou to the hideout. He had yet to make up his mind about whether to follow through with Madara's plan, or to fulfill Itachi's request and help Kou and Naruto. Either way he had decided it couldn't hurt to learn the skill of blind combat, especially after watching Kou's fighting style and how effective it was.

You would never have guessed the kunoichi was blind when you saw her training with the Uchiha. Her defense was almost impenetrable and her long range attacks were fierce and deadly accurate, but Sasuke found her hand to hand combat was very weak. That was the purpose of their training session this evening.

Kou had cuts and bruises all over her body while Sasuke, who stood across from her with his sword drawn, seemed perfectly fine. They had been training for hours and the blind kunoichi was on her last limbs. Sasuke was exceptionally fast and light on his feet when he fought at close range. Kou had found it difficult to feel or hear his movement, and his sharigan did not make things easier. He could predict her movements and always seemed a step ahead as she tried to keep up.

Every day they alternated between training Sasuke to fight blind and teaching Kou to fight at close range. If and when she fought Madara she knew he was a master of close and long range combat. Learning to do both was essential to her survival, plus Sasuke got a kick out of beating the crap out of her. She did the same thing to him when he had to fight blind, but they both knew it was necessary to be hard on one another.

Sasuke took his stance as Kou did the same, but was much weaker. The Uchiha disappeared and reappeared in a flash behind Kou. She couldn't feel him on the ground as he floated slightly in mid air, but she did hear the sword make a small click as Sasuke prepared to slice. She ducked and spun on her heels while forming hand signs. Her hands began to glow along with her eyes. In a fraction of a second she shouted "Spirit Palm," and thrust her palm into Sasuke's chest. The Uchiha flew back only to poof into smoke. Kou heard the poof, _shit a clone._

The real Sasuke jumped from a tree and came diving down from above. Kou heard him step off the branch and prepared for the strike. Normally she would encase herself in an earth dome, but Master Daichi had instructed her not to use earth manipulation. He wanted her to learn better hand to hand combat skills.

Kou leapt out of the way as Sasuke struck the spot where she had been. She landed on her feet and braced herself for another attack. Sasuke pulled his sword out of the ground and re-took his stance, "Stop dodging and counter attack. That's the whole point of this training."

"You're coming at me with a sword, what do you expect?" She yelled across the clearing.

"Kou there are ways to counter a weapon without a weapon of your own," said her master form the other side of the clearing. He was sitting by a bush watching the two ninja.

"Easy for you to say!" said the kunoichi just before Sasuke attacked again.

Kou could barely hear his footsteps coming towards her, but encased her hands with the spirit palm. She blocked the swords blade as Sasuke struck her head on. She concentrated her energy into her hands so she would not be cut. She ducked and swung her leg on the ground sweeping Sasuke's feet out from under him. He made a side cartwheel motion in the air and landed on his feet, but in the process he had lost his sword.

Kou had leaped back to her feet and held the sword by the blade. She tossed it aside and took her stance, stronger this time. She had found strength after gaining some confidence. Sasuke vanished again and appeared on Kous right, his chidori activated. She heard the chirping of the lightning and blocked his punch by grabbing his wrist. Sasuke tried to use her arm as leverage and kicked, but Kou grabbed Sasuke's leg with her free hand and swung him to the ground. The Uchiha rolled before Kou could strike him with her spirit palm. She made a small hole in the ground, while Sasuke tried to sweep kick. Kou used her arm to cartwheel away from him and pulled her arm out of the ground.

She only had a second to retake her stance before Sasuke began attacking her again. This time the sparring lasted over a minute as the two exchange blows and blocks. They broke apart from their hand to hand onslaught, and were breathing heavily. Kou felt her legs give out, but remained conscious as she fell.

Daichi walked briskly towards his student and helped her to her feet, "I think that's enough for today, you have improved greatly my dear." The monk smiled and Kou returned it with a weaker one.

Sasuke walked over after grabbing his sword. He took Kou from Daichi and adjusted her so he was carrying her on his back. "I'll take her old man. If your legs give out I can't carry you both," said the Uchiha with a smirk.

Daichi chuckled and agreed, "I don't appreciate being called an old man, but I do appreciate the help."

Sasuke had begun calling Daichi "old man" after the monk's lectures and advice had started to annoy the Uchiha. Daichi didn't mind his nick name much; the boy was arrogant but not stupid. He was also an incredible training partner for Kou, which had given the old monk some time off from training her himself.

"I will inform the medic about Kou's injuries. I don't think there's anything serious, but I want to be cautious," said Daichi as he walked ahead of the two young ninja. He disappeared into a swirl of wind and dirt.

Sasuke walked slowly with Kou on his back. She sighed, she was pissed he was seeing her in this condition. Most days she waited until she was in her room to collapse, but today had been too much for her to handle. Sasuke smirked, "Was our little sparring match too much for you."

"Asshole," growled the kunoichi. She could feel him smirking.

"All kidding aside you're getting better at close combat," he said with a more serious tone.

Kou tried to hide her shock; she wasn't used to him giving her any sort of compliment. She practically whispered, "Thanks."

Although he had been more social, Sasuke was far from talkative. He almost never spoke to anyone, even Master Daichi, but when he and Kou were alone he did manage to partake in small conversations, but never had he given a compliment.

He wasn't that kind of guy to shower someone with compliments to make them confident, but this small gesture had just slipped out. It was true she had improved in close combat, but then again she had improved in a lot of ways over these past few months. He had never complimented her before on her improvement, why now?

Sasuke was torn inside, he wanted to sever his bonds with her in the beginning, but now he found himself wanting to impress her, not to mention this new feeling called worry. He had actually been concerned when she had collapse. He didn't show it outwardly, but inside he felt his heart skip a beat when she hit the ground. He had also felt relieved that she was ok.

He carried her in silence as they made their way to the valley. He picked up speed and ran down the side of the cliff using his chakra to stick to the earth. They arrived at the bottom softly and he walked toward the medic house.

Kou hated silence; being blind it actually scared her. Luckily there was still hustle and bustle around them to distract her. She was still pondering the compliment as they made their way across the village, _maybe he does care...nah! He's come far, but not that far… I think. _

They arrived at the small hospital and Kou was checked out by the medic monk and cleared to go home. He had said she was a little dehydrated and had used too much chakra. Satisfied with the medic's evaluation Daichi let his student and the Uchiha go home. He remained at the hospital to talk with his fellow monk.

Sasuke carried Kou all the way home and cooked dinner for them. He forced Kou to remain seated, "I don't feel like carrying you all the way back to hospital again."

_This is sort of out of character for him,_ the kunoichi thought to herself. She could hear him scrambling around the kitchen. He was not as familiar with it as she was, and he had not quite mastered cooking blind. She could hear him occasionally curse as he burned himself or spilled something.

He made them a steak stir fry and they ate quietly occasionally talking about their upcoming workouts. The food was good, and Kou made sure to tell him he had done a good job. He smiled on the inside, but quickly flattened the feeling of accomplishment, _you're getting soft, _he said to himself.

After dinner was cleared they both sat out on the porch and meditated. Night fell and the silence became very uncomfortable for Kou, "You've been acting weird today spoiled."

"Stop calling me that, and I didn't want to eat half ass cooked food made by you. You seemed very tired," replied Sasuke keeping his eyes closed.

"You suck at lying spoiled I know you actually care," she replied with a smirk. She closed her eyes again and went back to meditating. Sasuke sensed her smirk and twitched slightly with annoyance. He didn't respond, but felt confused, the same feeling he felt whenever he thought about Itachi's request. Why was he feeling it now?

_Great more I have to think about. _There were times he did think he cared about Kou, and the consequences of Madara's plans. He remembered all Madara had promised him, Itachi's eyes, a rematch with Naruto, it seemed too good to pass up just to help Kou and Naruto save the world. Was his old village worth giving up for all that power? Was his friendship with Naruto worth it… was his friendship with Kou worth it?

He took a quick glance with his sharingan at the kunoichi next to him and found her presence calming again. How she had this effect on him he would never know, but it felt good for now. He was content here at the monastery and he would not make a decision about what to do until he had to. He Sasuke Uchiha one of the best strategists, probably second only to Shikamaru was going to wing it.

After an hour the two ninja decided to call it a night. Sasuke remained awake in his bed for a while thinking about all his options, while Kou fell asleep immediately. He got up and checked on her in the night. He activated his sharingan and quietly opened her door; _she's actually bearable when she's asleep. _He smirked a little at this thought and was satisfied with what he saw. She was as the doctor said, exhausted from chakra overuse, but she would recover and be back to her annoying ways in the morning. Sasuke went back to his room and fell asleep quickly.

He had a dream filled evening. Itachi was haunting him. Every dream he had had was Itachi standing there in front of him but unreachable. He never said anything he just stared and always, just before Sasuke would wake up, Itachi would smile at him. Was this his older brother's way of pushing him to make a decision quickly, or was it simply just a dream. He didn't have Kou's power to talk to the dead, yet Itachi seemed so real.

Sasuke awoke and smelled eggs. He walked toward the kitchen and heard Kou cooking them breakfast. He felt the need to disagree and make her rest, but he didn't feel like arguing so early in the morning. She greeted him and told him to sit.

Sasuke followed her suggestion and felt paper under his hand. He raised it up and began to ask a question, but Kou's voice came out first "I think it's a note from Master Daichi. Can you use your sharingan to read it?"

The Uchiha activated his kekkei genkai and read the note, "It says we have the day off."

He saw Kou sigh in relief. He too felt relieved these past few months had been hard, and sometimes downright brutal. Sasuke was never one to take time off willingly, but he also knew his body had to heal in order for him to get stronger.

Kou served breakfast and seemed to be back to her normal self just as Sasuke had predicted. "What would you like to do today?" she asked with a smile.

"Hn. Up to you," replied the Uchiha emotionless.

"Let's go swimming!" Kou sounded very excited, why Sasuke had no idea.

"Hn."

"C'mon spoiled we'll go to the waterfall and swim. It'll feel good today because it's so hot," she nudged him a little.

"Fine I don't have a suit but I'll make do," replied Sasuke as they both rose to clean up their area.

Both were ready in minutes. Sasuke was actually interested in this swim. The waterfall and its pool were very peaceful and he thought it would do him some good to relax. When he had been with Orochimaru his rare days off were spent walking aimlessly around the compound. This might not be as lonely, but it very well could be more annoying with Kou around.

As they walked through the village Sasuke felt less cold stares or glares directed at him. Now people just ignored him while they waved and greeted Kou. This change didn't matter to him much, it was a simple observation.

When they arrived at the waterfall Sasuke immediately felt more relaxed. As he began to undress down to his spandex shorts he had a thought and quickly activated his sharingan. He could see Kou in front of him in her black bikini top and blue surf shorts. He immediately saw what he was looking for on her back. There was the core seal that created the tattoos up and down her arms when she fired a Soul Shot, or entered the spirit world. The old man had said the seal was activated when she tapped into her own spirit energy. The tattoo was a white lotus sitting on a lily pad. It had a black symbol for "seal" in the center of the flower. The lotus took up most of Kou's back and he thought how intricate it was compared to Orochimaru's simple curse seal.

Sasuke also couldn't help but notice Kou's body. She was pale but her muscles were toned. She was very thin, but he knew she was far from frail. As she stood upright she spoke without turning, "Like what you see spoiled?"

_Shit. _He had been caught. "Thought I heard something," was the only excuse he could come up with. He didn't deactivate his sharingan. He wasn't comfortable swimming blind like Kou was.

They entered the water and began to float. Both looked towards the sky like they had done after Sasuke's meeting with Itachi. The air was hot, but the water was cool and relaxing. The Uchiha suddenly had another thought, "back at the house you had me read Daichi's note."

"Yeah and?" she replied with some attitude.

"How did you read my letters…after you went blind?" he asked. On the inside he was very curious, and hoped Daichi hadn't been the one to read the letters to her. He had written a lot of private information not even thinking that she couldn't read it.

"I had some of the temple boys read your letters and help me write back. I learned a memory erase jutsu through one of the books here at the temple. The monks made some of the books into brail so I could learn and read about jutsus," she explained. She suddenly snickered, "I messed up the first time I used the jutsu and caused one of the boys to lose his memory completely. Boy was I in deep shit with Master Daichi that day."

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle a little. He could picture Kou trying to explain the boy's predicament to her master. He hadn't laughed in a long time and yet something so simple made him chuckle.

They began swim around a little more after becoming stiff from floating. Of course this immediately turned into a race of which Sasuke won. After racing they dove from the top of the waterfall into the pool. Sasuke found himself actually having a good time. He felt at ease here, but was it the place or the company? He decided not to worry about it and thought that today he could just live in the moment.

After a few hours of swimming, diving, racing and floating the two ninja decided it was time to head back. As they were getting dress Kou's head shot up and she took her stance. Sasuke sensed a disturbance as well and activated his sharingan. He searched all around and he couldn't find the source of the noise.

They both stood defensively until a fire ball flew from the forest. It was aimed at Sasuke who hadn't sensed it in time. He was a sitting duck, until Kou jumped in the way and created an earth dome. When she released the earth they found themselves surrounded by cloaked ninja. All of them had various weapons.

Kou and Sasuke stood back to back and waited for the enemy to make the first move. One of the ninja stepped forward and created a fireball in his hands. He shot it at Sasuke and Kou. Kou created a wall of earth and deflected the blast. The wall came down and the other ninja attack.

Sasuke and Kou held their own despite being outnumbered. They protected one another and fought off a few of the ninja. The remaining enemy ninja back tracked into the woods. There were only five left out of the ten that had attack. The others lay on the ground dead.

Kou turned her head to whisper to Sasuke, "We have to get out of here and get back to village."

Both were breathing heavily. Sasuke turned to her, "We can hold them off. Besides you really think they're just going to let us walk out of here and get help?"

"No but it was the only idea I had. I'm not exactly operating at one hundred percent here," she replied annoyed.

The Uchiha hadn't even thought about the fact that just yesterday she had collapsed from exhaustion. She was right, they needed help. These ninja were skilled and if Kou went down, Sasuke didn't think he could hold them off by himself.

Just as he finished his thought a ninja managed to surprise Kou and kicked her across the clearing. Another ninja shot a fireball at her. It hit her feet and began to burn them.

She fell to the ground and screamed. Sasuke took out the first ninja with his chidori, while the fire ninja escaped back into the forest. He ran over to Kou and helped her put out the fire.

"I can't see! I can't feel the ground my feet are too burned," she said with pain. She wouldn't dare cry in front of Sasuke, but he could tell she was struggling to hold back tears. Her feet were scalded and he knew if she couldn't use them to feel on the ground she was completely blind.

The four remaining ninja appeared in front of him, and began to walk menacingly towards Sasuke.

"If you just give us the spirit guardian we'll be on our way," said the fire using ninja. Sasuke assumed he was the leader.

"Idiot. You really think you can corner an Uchiha and not suffer any consequences," replied Sasuke with anger.

He formed hand signs as the enemy ninja began to attack, "I won't let you have her."

As he completed the hand signs the sky became dark and rain began to pour down on the clearing. Thunder clapped and lighting shot throughout the sky like a firework show. The enemy ninja paused in their attack briefly, which was all Sasuke needed. He summoned Kirin and the lighting dragon shot down from the sky in a flash. The enemy ninja had nowhere to run and were struck down dead. Sasuke who had his hand raised in the air to control the dragon released the jutsu.

He turned to Kou who sat up and marveled at what she had just seen, "You protected me…that jutsu…it's amazing. I couldn't even track the sound."

"That's because it moves faster than the speed of sound," replied Sasuke who fell to the ground from exhaustion. He sat up on his elbows next to the kunoichi, "It's never been that powerful, even when I faced Itachi."

"That is because you used it to defend someone. Not for vengeance," came master Daichi's voice as he emerged from the woods.

He walked over to the two ninja with the medic following behind him. "Congratulations Sasuke Uchiha you have found what the true power of love can do."

"Love?" replied Sasuke confused. The medic meanwhile bent down and began healing Kou's feet.

"Yes love. You may not admit it, but you had the desire to protect my student thus making your power grow bigger than when you wanted to kill someone for revenge," said the old monk helping Sasuke to his feet. "You will find all your jutsus will be more powerful when you fight to protect, rather than fighting for personal power or retribution."

Sasuke stared at the victims of his attack, "Who are they?"

"Demons who wished to harm Kou so she could no longer seal them back to the demon realm. Kou is not well liked by demons because when they escape it is her job to send them back," explained Daichi.

"How did they find us?" asked the Uchiha.

Daichi smiled a bit, "We knew they had escaped, but we let them find you in order to test you Sasuke. The other monks and I were standing by the whole time just in case something went wrong. This was all planned by my student… although I must say I may have helped a little."

Sasuke turned to Kou, "You bitch! You could have killed us!" He almost never lost his temper but he couldn't seem to control it. She had gotten hurt, she could have died…

"I knew you could handle it," she replied as though nothing had happened. The medic finished healing her feet and she stood, "Much better thank you." She bowed in thanks. The medic returned the bow in silence and walked away back to the forest.

"Shall we? The other monks will take care of the demon's bodies." gestured Daichi to the two ninja. They began to walk home. The other monks he had been talking about emerged from the trees and began to burn the remaining demon's bodies.

"Why did you do that? Why did you plan all this?" asked Sasuke more calmly. He had gotten his anger under control, but he was still in shock at the trick that had been played on him.

"I wanted to show you that you never had to sever your bonds to gain strength. The very bonds you wanted to sever are what give you the most strength," explained Kou as they walked.

Sasuke had no reply. It was true he had felt the power grown in him as soon as he saw Kou fall to the ground. Even as they had stood back to back fighting he felt his jutsus strike faster and stronger. It wasn't just from the training though, it was his desire to protect her. Itachi had to have put her up to this, and for some reason he was no longer angered by the trick. Instead he felt thankful. His decision about Madara seemed to become clear to him, and so he began to plan.


	9. Chapter 9

Another month had passed and training continued as usual, although not everything was the same as before. Through their intense training Kou had developed into a well rounded fighter, and Sasuke… well he still struggled with blind combat, but there were other improvements.

During a match that had gotten out of hand Sasuke had accidently activated Susanoo and Amaterasu. Both techniques were still terrifying to witness, but their aura had changed dramatically. Kou could not see it but Susanoo was no longer a deep purple, it was a light blue. Amaterasu was still black and could consume anything in sight, but Sasuke's control over it had improved. Kou felt Susanoo become less dark and more light filled, and she knew the Uchiha had control over the black flames because she had not been burned to death after she had been hit.

Both changes further proved Sasuke's progression from a hate filled, revenge driven, cold blooded killer, to a protective, loyal, and passionate shinobi. He had come to the conclusion that this feeling of light heartedness and freedom from rage was more powerful than any hate filled jutsu he could conjure… at least for now.

He still held his emotions in check as he always had, and he saw no use in changing that part of his personality. He no longer wished to kill Kou and Naruto, but he had plans to carry out in order to fully realize his own ambitions. His brother's request sat in the back of his mind and he hoped that what he had decided to do would make Itachi proud. Sasuke had managed to keep his plans from Kou and he would not reveal his plot until the time was right. Kou had assumed Sasuke no longer had plans to take her to Madara and this feeling of comfort and trust is exactly what the young Uchiha wanted.

With only two months remaining until the war Kou found herself training extra and there was a heighten sense of urgency for her to perfect the sealing technique. She currently sat in meditation in an open field listening to the wind and feeling the spirits surround her. In front of her was a low level demon that had been a part of the attack on herself and Sasuke a month earlier. Somehow he had survived and the monks had found a use for him.

The red demon was chained to the ground and stared with terror at the kunoichi in front of him. He didn't understand exactly what was happening but he could sense the spirit energy growing around her. He struggled and screamed wildly…like it mattered.

Sasuke and Daichi sat in a nearby tree watching. It had only been recently that Sasuke was allowed to watch Kou train to use the sealing technique. He marveled at the energy he could see with his sharingan. It swirled and circled around Kou as she concentrated. Her eyes and tattoos shined the brightest he had ever seen. He remained calm and emotionless though, he knew any little distraction may kill them all.

"She has to balance the spirit energy around her with her own in order to actually open the gate, then she will have to seal the demon away," said Daichi calmly as he looked on. "Normally on her missions she would take the demon to the gate in the temple to seal him, but when she faces Madara she will have to create her own gate. If she does not balance the spirit energy exactly she could kill herself and possibly all of us watching."

"Comforting," replied Sasuke sarcastically.

Daichi smiled at the comment, "I have faith in her."

Sasuke also felt the same way about his friend. She had tried to persuade him to stay in the house where he'd be safe, but he had refused. He had to see this. She had talked and stressed about this technique over the past few weeks, plus he wanted to see why it was such a threat to Madara's plans.

She didn't disappoint with her answer to his curiosity. Behind Kou a gate like image began to take shape. It seemed ghostly and terrifying, but was spectacular at the same time. It glowed white and opened slowly revealing a swirling spectacle inside. Sasuke assumed this was the gate to the demon realm of spirit world. He also knew the hardest part to the technique was just beginning.

Kou rose from her sitting position and walked over to the demon that struggled against his chains. She touched her two fingers to his forehead and raised the other in front of her face. She made hand signs with her free hand and finished the process by yelling "Soul Extraction!"

Daichi smiled a little, "Now she must balance the demon's energy with her own in order to seal his soul."

Sasuke turned to Daichi and looked confused, "I thought she was sealing him back to demon world, would she just throw him into the gate."

"Under normal circumstances yes but this technique is different. It seals the soul directly to the realm of the punished. That is the best way to deal with Madara."

"So the technique isn't for the tailed beasts it's for Madara himself?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes that is correct. The tailed beasts can be sealed in a sealing scroll temporarily until we can find jinchuriki for them. They are never meant to go back to demon world," replied Daichi looking on as his student completed her task.

Kou drew her hand away from the demon's forehead and extracted a small glowing ball. She turned and pointed her fingers at the opened gate. "Seal!"

The ball shot toward the gate and was swallowed up by the glowing abyss. The gate closed and disappeared. With that Kou had finally mastered the technique. She sighed and sat on the ground in exhaustion. Although the technique was powerful it required a lot of spirit energy, and after using the jutsu she would not be able to perform any other jutsu for twenty four hours. This technique would be a one shot deal against Madara and it would require her to subdue him first, which would not be an easy feat even if Sasuke and Naruto helped her.

After witnessing the technique Sasuke fully realized why Kou and Naruto had to work together. Kou had to have enough energy to perform the technique once Madara was weakened, but she could never accomplish this by herself. She and Naruto would have to work together, and even then the two of them may not be enough. _That's why she helped me….she wants me to team up with her and Naruto. _This new information would have to be taken into account when Sasuke decided to get Itachi's eyes, and face off against Naruto.

Sasuke decided he would think about all that later. Right now he had a weakened kunoichi to carry to the medic room. He carried her piggy back style back to village, "What are they going to do with the demons body?"

Although Kou had sealed the demons soul, the bodied remained lifeless on the ground. "They'll burn it and burry it somewhere," she replied tiredly.

They walked the rest of the way silent until they reached the medic house. Kou was given a drink to help replenish her energy, but the restriction on her jutsu remained. The medic did not have the ability to counter the effects of the sealing technique. As he tended to Kou he looked up at her and asked, "So lady Kou what are planning to wear tonight?"

Sasuke's ear pricked at the medic's question. "What's tonight?" He asked simply.

Kou looked towards him, "Oh I forgot to tell you. The village is celebrating my birthday today."

Sasuke had completely forgotten it was her birthday and felt a little ashamed of himself, why he didn't know. Instead he raised an eyebrow, "The whole village celebrates your birthday?" He chuckled a little, "and you call me spoiled."

The medic realized he had started some sort of confrontation and decided to take his exit. Kou hopped off the bed and walked toward Sasuke, "Yes the entire village celebrates my birthday. In case you haven't noticed I'm kind of a big deal," she laughed. "I would like to think it's a pretty good time. So instead of being a grouchy prick tonight how about we get you some nice clothes and actually have fun for once."

Sasuke stopped chuckling and frowned. "Why should we have fun when we could be training?"

"You're blind Sasuke, not deaf. Master Daichi said I won't be able to perform any jutsu. I would like to think that a training session tonight would not be very fair," replied Kou with a smirk.

Sasuke knew not to argue. He had no excuses for not going to her birthday party. He actually couldn't help but be intrigued by the festival. It didn't help that he started thinking about what Kou would look like dressed up. He had only ever seen her in her ninja clothes… and there was the bikini… Sasuke shook his head at the thought and felt Kou leaving the room. He followed and decided he would just go along with everything. It was her birthday after all.

They had bought Sasuke some dress robes that were traditional for the villagers to wear. They were all black of course, and were surprisingly comfortable. The monks would be wearing black robes instead of the brown ones they typically wore. They would also not be drinking alcohol, but that didn't mean the civilian men couldn't partake in a little fun.

As they walked through the village Sasuke had to be on his guard more than ever. The normal hustle and bustle could be overwhelming enough, but a village getting ready for a party was even busier. He had walked into a few things here and there causing Kou to laugh, until she had been hit with a wooden board during one of her moments of laughing at Sasuke. He laughed which shocked Kou. She had not heard him laugh since they were kids. The man rarely smiled, and when he did it was normally a smirk at her misfortunes. She decided she liked his laugh and wanted to hear it more.

They returned to the house and began to get ready for the evening. Kou had learned put on kimono from her mother before she had died. Unfortunately doing her hair was a bit of a struggle. Instead she decided to wear it down. It fell below her shoulder blades and was wavy from wearing it in a braid so much. She held a potion of it in the back with a clip that was once her mothers. It was silver with a fake white lotus flower on it.

Kou put on a black kimono with pink cherry blossom flowers as the print. Her obi was red and it took her multiple tries to tie it. She wore simple make up due to her lack of ability in putting it on. She wanted to make sure she looked alright and walked across to Sasuke's room.

He heard her walking towards his room before she even knocked. Sasuke told her to come in. he was tying a final string with his sharingan activated. He wasn't quite ready to dress himself for a festival without being able to see. He looked up and saw what he thought was a goddess. He had never seen her hair down before and he couldn't help but wonder why. She looked gorgeous, simple but beautiful all the same.

She turned in a circled, "Do I look ok? I still mess up sometimes with the makeup and hair."

Sasuke stood frozen for a brief second, but shook himself out of his trance. He walked over and took her hand and raised it to his lips. He kissed her hand and whispered, "You look beautiful."

Kou blushed, "Where's this coming from?"

"Uchiha men have to be gentlemen too ya know," he said with a smirk as he raised his arm to escort her.

She felt the gesture, "I don't need a seeing eye Uchiha. I can walk by myself."

Before she could shove the arm away Sasuke intertwined their arms, "You're the guest of honor. You should have an escort."

"Seriously did I accidently seal the real Sasuke with that demon into the realm of the punished, because there is no way you are him," she laughed as they began to walk toward the door.

Sasuke couldn't really explain his behavior. He remembered all the etiquette lessons his mother and father had taught him, and seeing Kou looking the way she did seemed to activate his gentleman side. He found himself enjoying her reaction, and thought about how he may not live through this war, _might as well make the most of this down time. Who knows I might not be alive in a few months._

He was normally confident in his abilities but he knew war was war, and if his plan failed he would surly die. Despite his attempts to be more than a man, he felt his more human side coming out. The thing that scared him was that this was not an act; he was actually enjoying her company and looked forward to a carefree evening.

They arrived at a giant tent that had been set up for the party and were greeted by master Daichi, "You look lovely my dear…and Sasuke…not bad." The monk chuckled a little at his own antics.

Sasuke wasn't bothered by the comment. He nodded to the greeting and looked to Kou. He had his sharingan activated for the evening due to the amount of people in such a close space. Even Kou had suggested he use it tonight so he did not become overwhelmed.

They sat at a table on top of a stage. The villagers made a toast to the birthday girl and the music began to play. Monks and civilians a like entered the dance floor. For once there were other women besides Kou. The civilian men were permitted to bring their outside families or relationships with them to the village for the evening. Some of the men lived in the village part time and had families outside the valley. Others had girlfriends or fiancés from other villages they had met during their travels. Women were not allowed in the monk village, because it was said they would tempt the monks to break their vows. Daichi had decided that one night wouldn't hurt, and could test the younger monk's dedication to the monastery.

Many of the younger monks came up to Kou to ask her to dance, but she refused all of them politely. Sasuke turned to her after finishing his meal, "Why won't you dance?"

Kou blushed and tilted her face away, "I never learned, and I'm always afraid I'll step on someone. Had I learned before I went blind I don't think it'd be a problem…"

Sasuke chuckled a little and interrupted her, "Wait you're telling me you can fight demons blind, but you can't dance?"

Kou frowned, "Shut it spoiled like you could do much better."

Sasuke grabbed her hand and said, "Watch me." Kou protested as Sasuke dragged her to the dance floor. He took her into a waltzing position, and put her feet on top of his. It reminded him of when Itachi had taught him to dance when he was younger.

He saw Kou's face looking nervous, "Trust me. Just follow my steps," he whispered.

"Like I have a choice I feel like I'm five again…"

She didn't even get to finish her insult. Sasuke began gliding across to the music. Kou followed with her feet still on top of Sasuke's shoes. She remained barefoot even for a formal occasion, which Sasuke was thankful for considering shoes would have dug into his foot.

Kou's nervousness faded as she followed Sasuke. After a couple of songs she had learned the steps and hopped off the Uchiha's feet. They glided along for another song until they sat down again for dessert.

"Where did you learn to dance spoiled?" asked Kou as they ate cake.

"All high ranking Uchiha had to take etiquette classes which included dancing," replied Sasuke.

"Huh, well thank you for the dance. You're right if I can fight demons blind I should be able to dance," she laughed.

After seeing Kou dance many of the young villagers and monks asked for Kou to be their partner. This time she didn't refuse them. She even danced with Master Daichi, but after a song or two she would always return to Sasuke. She couldn't help it. She felt so at ease around him, and she could sense he felt the same way. They had actually had fun that night, it was a rare occurrence and both ninja hung onto the moment as long as they could.

After dancing for hours they decided to get fresh air. They had found a roof top next to the tent and sat next to one another. The party began to disperse below them, but that didn't mean the night was over. Fireworks shot off and lit up the night sky with beautiful colors.

Kou sighed, "Wish I could see them."

Sasuke looked up with his sharingan eyes and realized he was lucky. He could turn his blindness on and off whenever he liked. He could see the sunset and sunrise, the fireworks, all the things he had taken for granted. He looked at Kou, "they're not that special."

"You're full of shit spoiled. Everybody likes fireworks, young and old," said Kou with a smirk.

That damn smirk…that god damn smirk that Sasuke had always hated. From the time they were children she had taunted him with that smirk, and now she was using it to make him feel so different and confused. He was so used to being cold and closed off, but around her he felt at ease and warm. He wasn't quite ready to open up to her like he once had, but he felt and knew that he could. He trusted her and it scared him. He had never trusted anyone the way he trusted Kou, and he couldn't help but wonder if she trusted him. She had let him whirl her around the dance floor, so he guessed it was a start.

The finale began as the fireworks shot up and exploded fast and furious. Kou clapped and yelled like the crowd below she had heard enough fireworks shows to know when they were ending. Sasuke smiled a little. After the frenzy of colors and explosions the night became still and quiet. The guests returned to their homes and silence filled the air. Kou shifted uncomfortably.

"What is it?" asked Sasuke who had caught her movement.

"Nothing…I just don't like silence. It makes me feel helpless," she replied shyly.

Sasuke stared at her. All the time he had been here and he had never learned her fears. He was sure she knew his. Although blind she was annoyingly smart and perceptive. He felt like he had been the blind one.

"I like silence. It makes me feel at ease," replied Sasuke.

Kou was thankful he had kept up the conversation. Hearing his voice in the silence helped her feel better. She felt cold suddenly and shivered. Sasuke didn't have a jacket to put around her so he used his arm instead. Kou could feel his heartbeat and felt herself blush. She hid her face from the Uchiha in an effort to hide the redness of her cheeks.

They sat close together and chatted about their training. Kou shared some stories about her missions, and Sasuke just listened. He wasn't quite ready to tell her about Orochimaru and Itachi, although he assumed Itachi had told her about the battle already. He liked listening to her and he appreciated that she never asked him about his past. After a while the kunoichi yawned.

"Let's go back. Obviously today's events were too much for you," mocked Sasuke as he stood.

Kou didn't feel like arguing simply growled a few curses under her breath. She felt Sasuke reach a hand out to her and she took it gladly. Sitting down and getting up in the kimono was difficult.

Sasuke pulled her up a little too strongly and she fell into him. He kept their balance but saw how close their faces were. Kou could sense it as well and they remained frozen. Sasuke didn't know if it was the sake he had been drinking or what but he decided to lean in and place his lips on Kou's.

She felt the pressure and knew he was kissing her. She had no idea why, but she returned the kiss and felt a rush she had never experienced before. She felt both their heart rates beating furiously.

Sasuke felt a high from this act of affection and had no idea why he had decided to kiss the kunoichi. He suddenly got a hold of himself and broke away. He stared at her and she looked back at him with her ghostly white eyes.

"Sorry…uh… must have drank too much sake," was his reply as he walked backwards away from Kou.

She chuckled awkwardly, "Yeah I hear you gotta watch that stuff. It's ok you know it was a moment thing."

Sasuke didn't reply right away, but realized he was making the situation more awkward. "Must have been…Kou…"

"It's ok. Don't worry about it. I understand. There's a war coming up ya know. Gotta live it up…woo!" she said raising her arm in the a little. The "woo" had been quiet and she had no idea why she had responded this way.

The two ninja decided to walk back to house and did so in silence. Sasuke had faced death so many times and yet he had no idea how to react to the situation that had just transpired on that roof. They walked into the house and noticed Daichi was not in the kitchen like he normally was.

"Must have been tired. Guess he went to bed," said Kou after realizing they were thinking the same thing. "I'm gonna head there myself." She hurried off without looking back at the Uchiha.

Sasuke stood frozen in the kitched and dipped his head low. _It's fine you can't have feelings for her anyway…you have a plan. Stick to it!_

The Uchiha sighed and walked to his room glancing quickly at Kou's door before entering. Little did he know the two ninja had been watched the entire time.

Daichi had jumped up to a neighboring roof after the fireworks in order to find his student and the boy. He looked across just in time to see them huddled next to each other. He saw them kiss and couldn't help but watch the awkward moment after they broke apart. The monk followed them as they walked home and stood just outside the house as they headed for their bedrooms.

"Things are getting quite interesting aren't they," said the old monk inside. He smiled and couldn't help be feel happy that his student was happy. He also thought about the fact that both ninja were incredibly stubborn, "maybe I can give them a little push."

With some mischief on his mind Daichi entered the house quietly and went to his own bedroom, smiling to himself the whole way.


	10. Chapter 10

_I am terribly sorry for the wait. Writers block and work have kept me from completing another chapter. Again I apologize for the wait and I hope I have not lost any readers. _

Sasuke awoke the morning after Kou's birthday party in a fog, but he could still remember all that had happened. He could feel the kiss on his lips and the warmth of her hands where they had touched his face. He shook his head and brought himself back to the real world. He would have to forget about the kiss and about his feelings; there was a lot of work to do before the war.

Kou also woke up feeling the kiss on her lips and remembered the smell of his hair. She touched her feet to the ground and smacked herself, "you idiot." She could not believe she had let herself become attached to the Uchiha that easily. The monks had always warned her about attachments, but then again she was not a monk. She may have learned a lot of their philosophies, but she had never taken their vows. After dressing herself Kou walked out into the hallway. Sasuke had also emerged from his room at the same time, Kou stared at the floor and Sasuke couldn't help but stare at her, sharingan activated.

"Thought you didn't want to use it that much?" asked Kou with a hint of sarcasm.

"Hn." Was his only reply although deep inside he was glad she didn't mention the kiss. He deactivated his kekkei genkai and they both walked towards the kitchen to make breakfast.

Their conversation was the same as it always had been. Neither was willing to talk about what had happened the night before, and neither was willing to confess they had enjoyed their time together. They simply talked about their plans for training that day.

"Do you want me to teach you to throw kunai today?" asked the Uchiha. He had noticed she never carried a tool pack or any weapons for that matter.

"I'm not a weapons user. If anything I just make my own kunai with earth, but thanks." Her reply had been short and to the point which was very unusual for her.

After an awkward silence Sasuke couldn't take it anymore, "If you're upset about last night…"

He didn't even get to finish, "You had some sake and I don't think I was in a very good frame of mind for some reason. Its fine… like I said there's a war coming and we're both stressed."

"It obviously is bothering you. You women just love to pretend you can hide what you're feeling," said Sasuke rising from his chair. He was getting impatient, a rare occurrence.

Kou also rose from her chair, "And you men always think with your dicks! Especially when there's a little sake involved!"

Sasuke grunted in annoyance, "Let's just forget it, like anything would have come of it anyway."

As Sasuke left to go to the garden and meditate he heard Kou punch the table. She walked out the front door and headed for the waterfall, or at least that's where he guessed she would go.

Sasuke sat beneath a bodhi tree in the backyard. _She's so frustrating! Why do I feel this way around her… why do I care what she thinks or what she does?_

"Women are incredibly fascinating. They tempt us in ways we cannot explain, yet they have no idea the power they hold over our heads," said master Daichi as he walked calmly off the porch toward Sasuke.

Sasuke heard him coming forward and huffed. He kept his eyes closed and tried to ignore the old man.

Daichi sat down in front of the Uchiha and continued, "A monks life is simple because we choose to not let ourselves be tempted, but I find myself wondering if my life maybe better if I had someone to share it with."

"I don't want to share anything with her. She's helped me grow stronger that's it," said Sasuke annoyed.

"I would like to think you're not that blind Sasuke. I think you know that she has helped you grow in power physically by teaching you to love and to care. I'd also like to think she has gained your trust," replied the monk as he sat in a meditating position.

Sasuke was truly getting irritated by the old man, "I thought you monks looked down upon attachment."

"You and Kou are not monks."

"Hn."

Daichi smiled, "You have realized by now the changes your body and mind have gone through these past couple months are due to the changes in your heart. You are not the cold, hate filled boy that first came to this village. I see you as a grown man who is ready to prove his loyalty and his love. You just don't know how to go about doing so."

Sasuke finally opened his eyes. How was it this monk knew so much? Did he know his true plans? "So what?"

"What I'm trying to say is a woman like my student is second to none and it would be wise of you to keep her as an ally… and possibly more."

Daichi rose and prepared to leave. He had plans to help Kou finish up some details about the sealing technique, "Kou cannot judge by appearances therefore she is the most unbiased person when it comes to judging a person's character. She has obviously seen something in you, something no one else can… except maybe Naruto. You don't have a lot of true friends in this world right now Sasuke Uchiha. It may be wise to keep the ones that you do."

He walked away letting his advice sink in. Sasuke stared in the direction of the old monk and couldn't hide the fact he was trying to interpret all that had been said. The old man was right in that Naruto and Kou had never given up on him, but it was also true that he had plans of his own. He sighed; _all will reveal itself in time. If they truly are my friends then we will survive this war. _

Kou stood beneath the waterfall letting herself get pounded by the force of the falling water. She concentrated her energy into remaining upright. If she lost focus she would surely be pushed beneath the surface and possibly drown. The thought of that was just fine with her after what had happened that morning.

_I don't care about him like that… he's such a jerk… and arrogant cocky jerk… who saved my life… and who can be kind… and is apparently a gentleman…_she sighed and continued to focus.

"Love is an amazing feeling that can fuel the most powerful of jutsu, yet it can be the death of anyone who is fool enough to let it consume them completely," came a familiar voice from the forest. Daichi walked toward his pupil as she continued to battle the water pounding her body.

"I'm not in love with him Master Daichi. He's just a training partner," replied Kou with some strain as the water seemed to push harder.

"Love is also an incredible force that makes even the most powerful and brave men draw back in fear," replied the old monk as he continued to walk. He folded his arms in front and hid his hands in his robes, "I have told you lying to yourself blocks the flow of your energy and weakens you physically."

With that Kou sank beneath the water. As the force of the waterfall continued to push her deeper and deeper she calmed herself long enough to summon earth from the bottom of the pool and propelled herself to the surface, away from the waterfall. She emerged gasping for air.

Daichi walked to the shore line and helped her to her feet, "I surprise even myself sometimes with how predictable life really is." He chuckled at his own joke as Kou glared towards him.

"It's not like it could work out anyway. He's too much of a bastard to have feelings… and besides there are more important things to worry about," said Kou after recovering.

Daichi rose from helping his student, "Sometimes I wish we would have started your training later. You have never gotten the chance to be a normal teenager, but that is life we had no choice did we?"

"No we didn't… and I'll be fine. I'll get over it," Kou stomped off towards her clothes. She had been wearing her bathing suit while under the waterfall.

Daichi shook his head, "You both are two of the most stubborn people

It wasn't until that evening that all three returned to the house. Daichi claimed he had an important meeting to attend and left the two shinobi alone. They were currently cleaning the kitchen when Sasuke accidently bumped into Kou.

"Jeez I thought you had at least learned something these past couple months spoiled," she said with some bitterness. The kunoichi was not in the best of moods.

"Time of the month much?" replied Sasuke equally as bitter.

Kou screamed, "THAT'S IT!" She proceeded to grab Sasuke who was caught off guard. She held him by his collar while the Uchiha activated his sharingan prepared to defend himself. He was equally as surprised when he saw Kou crying.

She glared through her tears, "You have no idea! NONE! You have no idea what I went through when I heard you left. You have never cared about anything but revenge; you have never cared about anybody but yourself."

Sasuke was stunned she had never spoken about the day he left the hidden leaf village. Kou took a breath through her ranting and sobbing.

"You selfish bastard you never realized where your true strength came. I was always there for you. You would whine to me 'Oh Kou please I'm so mad Naruto is beating me. Kou please tell me what to do I'm so confused,'" she mocked. Sasuke began to clench his fists.

"I thought you were my friend… I thought… I thought you…." She couldn't finish. She dropped Sasuke and ran from the room out into the night.

Sasuke landed on his feet and stared in the direction he heard her footsteps. He walked to his room and sat in meditation. She had hit a nerve and he could barely keep himself from lighting the entire house on fire. In his state of mind he never heard footsteps coming towards his window.

"Seems you have been stalling on your mission my student," said Madara Uchiha in his calm yet cold voice.

"I'm not stalling. I'm waiting for the right moment," replied Sasuke through clenched teeth. This was the last thing he needed.

Madara walked through the wall and stood in front of the younger Uchiha. "I disagree your little antics over these past couple of months have indicated to me that you are beginning to doubt our original plan."

Sasuke grunted in reply he had nothing to say to this mad man.

Madara continued, "of course you know I could take matters into my own hands and deal with the Spirit Guardian myself." He paused and Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at the floor.

"That is if you think you cannot handle this simple task I gave to you," continued Madara irritated.

Sasuke looked up in Madara's direction, "I will bring Kou to the hide out in two months. I still have more I want to learn about her before…"

"You are delaying this mission out of fear for her life! I knew you had underlying feelings for the girl, but I thought you knew well enough to squash them!"

Sasuke had never heard Madara yell or lose his cool, but there was something else in his voice…fear. It was only the slightest hint, but he could feel it. Madara was terrified of Sasuke joining Kou, Naruto and the rest of the shinobi alliance.

Sasuke kept his head and looked toward Madara, "There is no need to question my loyalty to you. I will bring Kou to you before the war begins, but I cannot do it by force. She has grown in strength, and a fight could leave her dead before we have a chance to use her."

Madara seemed satisfied with the answer, "I see. You want to earn her trust to make things easier." He smiled, "you are an Uchiha in every way to your core."

Sasuke smirked at this and stood, "Give me another two months to train with her and fully gain her trust. That will give me enough time to bring her to the hide out and it will be before the war begins."

"Fair enough," nodded Madara. "I sense she is returning to the house I will take my leave. Remember Sasuke, two months. Bring me the girl and Itachi's eyes are yours."

With that Madara disappeared and Sasuke sighed in relief. Everything was still going in his favor, how long that would last he had no idea. A knock came at his door.

"What?" he answered harshly. He knew it was Kou.

She walked in and sat down on his bed. She motioned for him to sit as well. He hesitated before sitting beside her.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things," she said solemnly.

"How do those words taste?" smirked the Uchiha.

"Like strong wasabi," replied back the kunoichi with a smile. She touched her hand to his cheek. Sasuke found himself unable to move, he felt how warm her hand was. He couldn't see her but he could feel her smile, and remembered what it looked like.

He placed his hand over hers, "I did enjoy the kiss last night it wasn't the sake or the stress."

Kou let her hand fall and both shinobi remained quiet. They sat in deep thought until Kou finally spoke, "We'd never be able to be together it would be too risky and too much of a distraction. This war…"

Sasuke didn't let her finish he placed his finger on her lips to shush her. He followed his finger with his lips and kissed her passionately. This kiss was different from the first one; it had more intensity and desire. They released for air and Kou felt dizzy. Sasuke embraced her and they kissed again.

The two shinobi felt the world around them disappear. All they could feel was each other's lips. The kiss came to an end when Kou felt Daichi's footsteps coming towards the house. She shot up from the bed and began to walk away. Sasuke grabbed her before she could leave, "What you said earlier about this being a risk and a distraction… don't worry about it."

She turned toward him, "We'll figure out what to do as things progress I guess, but when the war begins…"

"We'll do what we need to do. We're both shinobi and we both have duties," interrupted the Uchiha. They could both sense Daichi getting closer.

"Does this mean you're joining the alliance?" asked a surprised Kou.

"It means I'm on your side… I don't think I could go back to my village, but I will do what I can to help you," replied Sasuke in a whisper. The front door made a click as Daichi turned the knob. Kou kissed Sasuke one more time before making a swift and silent exit into her room.

Daichi could be heard entering the house and walking towards his room. Sasuke thought the old man must have assumed they were asleep.

He could hear Kou's footsteps in her room as she climbed into bed. Sasuke followed her lead and lay awake. He stared up towards the ceiling, _Two months is more than enough time. I have no doubt about my plans. She trusts me I can feel it. _Sasuke closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately the only question he had on his mind was if he was doing the right thing for himself and for Itachi.


	11. Chapter 11

Kou sat beneath the bodhi tree in her back yard meditating. She opened all her senses and could feel the activity of the village she had come to love. It was her last night in the Village Hidden at the Gate and she wanted to remember every little thing, every person, every smell and every sound. She knew it might be a long time before she saw her beloved home again and tonight was a night to relax and process everything about to happen and everything that had happened.

Sasuke sat at the kitchen table facing the open window. He could feel the wind and the cool night air hit his face. He kept his energy focused on the kunoichi sitting outside. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Daichi was gone preparing for their travel to the allied shinobi base, but Sasuke had no intention of seeing his old friends tomorrow. He waited and let Kou be by herself for a moment, he himself needed some time to go through his plan in his head for the thousandth time. On top of that he though back to the last two months of their training.

He hadn't been so happy. The Uchiha and the blind kunoichi had trained relentlessly perfecting their techniques. Those moments of burning muscles aching joints and swelling bruises were necessary and worth the results, but it was the small time they had snuck away to be alone together that had simply been magical. They spent most of that time talking and laughing. He had never laughed so much. It was those moments when he could let his guard down, and let her in. She had some sort of spell on him, but tonight that spell would have to be broken.

Sasuke took a deep breath and headed for the porch. He stood looking out into the night with his sharingan activated. Everything was quiet. He leaned against a pillar and gazed at Kou as she sat in meditation. It was almost too easy…

Kou knew he was standing on the porch and she couldn't put her finger on it, but something was amiss. She wrote it off as nervousness. They were all nervous tonight and she thought nothing more of it. Sasuke had been wonderful these past few months and she found herself growing warm at the thought of their time together.

**Flashback**

It was one of those rare moments when the two shinobi had been able to find alone time. They sat beside the waterfall at the top of the cliff. The sun was setting as they entwined themselves in each other's arms. They faced one another, faces inches apart, laughing. Kou found Sasuke's laugh to be contagious, despite the fact she found it odd. She was the only one who could make him laugh like this and for that she held some pride.

Kou had just finished telling him the story of her first day of training. "I fell flat on my face, WHAM!" she yelled for emphasis. Sasuke smiled and laughed.

"Sounds like I was a better pupil to you than you were to that old man," he replied.

"You weren't that great I didn't back talk as much as you did," giggled the kunoichi.

"I have some serious doubts about that," said Sasuke as he rolled his eyes and grabbed her. She continued to giggle as he pulled her on top of him. He kissed her hard and she returned it with vigor and passion.

**End Flash Back**

It was here alone that they could act so out of character. They could laugh and smile and be as happy as they wanted to be. No thoughts of war, of death or destruction just two people in love. Although neither had said it both knew there was something more than a crush going on. Sasuke hesitated in expressing any feelings for the same reasons Kou did. They were shinobi and feelings such as this could be deadly.

Kou let the memory fade from her mind as she heard Sasuke approach. He seemed calm and collected but she detected a slight rise in his heart rate, "Ya scared spoiled?" She snickered at the question. She knew it would piss him off.

Sasuke activated his sharingan and seemed to disappear in a flash. Kou got up quickly thinking there was an intruder in the house only to be knocked unconscious as the Uchiha appeared behind her. He stood over her body for a moment staring at her unconscious form, "I'm sorry," he whispered and picked her up. Sasuke moved with speed and silence as he escaped the village undetected into the forest.

Daichi returned to the house after his meeting with the monks. He had named a temporary leader for the monastery while he, Kou and the Uchiha were gone. The old monk approached the door in a somewhat cheerful mood. He had never seen his student so happy and felt that they all might actually survive this war with Madara. He touched his hand to the doorknob only to feel a cold shiver down his spine. It was too quiet, Kou hated silence…

Daichi ripped the door open and searched the house frantically. His normally calm demeanor disappeared as he continued to fail in his attempts to find his student, or Sasuke. He searched the entire village and the surrounding forest. _No I was a fool to let him live here… he's taken her._

The monk made one more attempted to sense his student's chakra but could not avoid the inevitable any longer. He would have to report to the allied shinobi forces and convince them to search for the Spirit Guardian. He felt another fear shoot through him, _what if we're too late? _He shook his head and calmed himself as he began his trek through the forest to the allied base. He ran and leapt as fast as he could through the night. _Kou will not let them kill her so easily. Plus I do not think they will want to kill her right away. We have time, but we must act fast. If Madara captures the eight and nine tails we are doomed. _Daichi let this last thought motivate his tired body as he continued to run. _Hang on my student I will not fail you._

Tsunade sat at her desk staring at a map of the surrounding area. She and the Raikage had been going over battle plans as the chaos surrounded her office. The shinobi alliance was beginning to organize and there was confusion and nervousness radiating throughout the camp. The slug princess sighed and rolled the map up. She rose from her chair and walked toward her window and looked outside to see ninja running to their posts. She thought of Naruto and what he might be doing on that god for saken island she had sent him to. She knew he'd yell her ear off when he figured out the war had started without him, but she also knew this was for the best. Although the Sanin had faith the knuckle head didn't know about the war, she could only guess how long it would take him to figure out what was going on.

The sun was shining bright over the camp as Tsunade took a deep breath, _so this is the calm before the storm I guess… no matter we can not fail… we will not fail. _The blonde opened her eyes to see an older man running toward her office. She could tell by his robes he was a monk, but she could not tell who he was or where he had come from. She tensed as the monk drew closer.

Daichi dodged and weaved through the crowds of shinobi as he sprinted towards the fifth hokage's office. He knew of anyone she would help him. His muscles screamed for rest but the old monk was determined. As he got close he made a huge leap and dove through Tsunade's window narrowly missing her. Tsunade stood tense and looked pissed as Daichi laid on the ground to catch his breath, "You idiot who are you! Why are you here!"

Daichi got a hold of himself and stood weakly. Tsunade's face softened as she saw how tired he looked. She offered him a chair and sat down across from him. She quickly analyzed the man in front of her as he caught his breath, and recognized him from so long ago. She had seen him with Miya when the kunoichi had come to the hospital for her cancer treatments. The Sanin knew the man to be the Spirit Guardians teacher from what Miya had told the medic nin about her daughter and the life she lead at the Village Hidden at the Gate. Tsunade had never met Miya's daughter but she knew the rumors about the Spirit Guardian and the impact the young girl could have on this war.

Tsunade let Daichi fully recover and gave him a glass of water from her desk. She poured herself some sake, "Didn't think I would see you until later today Master Daichi. I also thought you would bring the Spirit Guardian…where's Kou?"

"Kou has been taken by Sasuke Uchiha my lady," replied Daichi with some fear in his voice. He went on to explain what had happened over the past five months. To the old monk this seemed like an eternity. The longer he took to explain the longer it would take to find his student.

Tsunade listened carefully to the old monk and grew concerned as the story progressed. _Sasuke what have you done!_ She thought to herself when Daichi had finished.

The slug princess rose and paced a few times. After a moment she finally paused, "I will put a team together to retrieve Kou. I also believe it may be time for Naruto to come out of hiding."

"But my lady if we send Naruto and Master Bee then we risk their capture as well," replied the monk with shock.

"We all know Naruto's escape from the island is inevitable…" the hokage paused and sat back down in her chair. Her face went from stern to worry. "This way we can control so factors. Naruto will be with Bee and my choice of a team. He would never let me live it down if I didn't tell him about Kou's capture and Sasuke's involvement. The old perv said the boy loved Kou like sister during their training." Tsunade smirked, "You know how fiercely loyal he is to his friends."

Daichi also smirk and sighed, "Kou would do the same for Naruto that I know for eis the boy anyway?"

Tsunade's smirk grew wider, "To be honest probably on his way here."

Miles away a blonde haired whiskered boy leaps through the trees. Something is very different about this boy he has a glow to him, a certain aura that screams confident. This confidence is well earned, because this boy is also glowing literally. A yellow flaming light surrounds him along with a matching tail. Black tattoos go from his hands and feet, they meet in his mid section where a swirling seal is the source of the power. Naruto Uzumaki is storming toward the allied shinobi camp almost leaving his teacher in the dust.

"Hurry up Bee we're gonna miss the war!" screamed the knuckle head ninja.

"Yo little man we got some time, give me a moment to write my rhymes!" raps back Killer Bee.

Naruto humped, "Why do I get the weirdest teachers?"

As the two tail beasts continue at their fast pace the allied shinobi camp begins to come into view.

"We're HERE!" screams the Uzumaki and he begins to speed up. While Bee trails along writing in his book.

Meanwhile Tsunade and Daichi continue to make plans for Kou's retrieval mission.

"Are you sure this will not hamper the war effort?" asked a concerned Daichi.

"For a monk you quite concerned about this war, and no this is a special team. If Kou is killed we will not have any chance against Madara. Besides this battle is a diversion the real mission will be to get into the hideout and destroy Madara from the inside out."

"But we have no idea where the hideout is?" said the old monk while furrowing his brow.

"We don't but Naruto will. Because he has the nine tails demon inside him he automatically has a connection with Kou's chakra. He will lead the team to the hide out and they'll just have to go from there."

"Who will be leading this mission? I think the boy has incredible power, but he can be reckless…"

Beofre Daichi could finish a masked silver haired Jonin poofed into the room. "Sorry I'm late," he said non-chalantly, "I got caught up in the path of life."

"Kakashi I take it you have been briefed by my messenger," asked Tsunade, standing.

"Yes. I take it there is more information to be learned since the Spirit Guardian's teacher is here without her?"

"Kakashi this is Master Daichi. He has informed me that Kou has been taken…by Sasuke Uchiha."

Kakashi couldn't help but be a little taken aback. His normally stoic expression turned almost angry, but worried at the same time. _Sasuke…what are you doing?_

The Jonin shook himself out of his thoughts and sat down. Daichi and Tsunade repeated the information and the plan that was to take place in order to retrieve Kou.

"So Naruto's on his way," said Kakashi while rubbing his temples. "So much for keeping him out of the war."

Tsunade couldn't help but smirk, "You'll have your hands full with this team."

"That, my lady is an understatement," sighed the Jonin.

Just then a loud bang was heard as the front door to the Hokage's office was blown out and crumpled to the ground.

"You little idiot how many times have I told you to knock!" screamed Tsunade.

"I'll fix your door later grandma! Yelled Naruto as the dust began to clear.

He stood in the ruined doorway with bee behind him. Tsunade could tell the training had paid off. She could sense the nine tails chakra flowing through hi, but this time there was no hate or darkness. The chakra was light and controlled.

"Why am I being kept away on an island when there's a war going on old lady!" screamed the blonde boy.

"We wanted to protect you idiot. Obviously no walls can contain someone as wreckless and stupid as you. Now shut up and sit down. If you're going to be a part of this war you are going to go on a mission of the utmost importance."

Daichi sat shocked in his chair. He could also eel Naruto's chakra and couldn't help but feel hopeful that they would find his student and destroy Madara's plans.

Kakashi sat back un-amused. He was used to these antics between the Hokage and his student.

Bee sat back and leaned against some ruble. He was interested to see what the Kage's had in mind for himself and his fellow jinjuriki.

"If you give me another bogus mission grandma…" started Naruto warningly.

"Shut up boy! This mission is not bogus. You will be on an elite team that will infiltrate Madara Uchiha's hideout," snapped the Hokage.

"And how are we supposed to find it!" yelled the blonde boy.

"You're going to lead the team right to it by seeking out the Spirit Guardians chakra," replied Tsunade folding her hands in front of her. She rested her chin and closed her eyes.

Naruto went from angry to confused, "Wait the old monks here…where's Kou and why do we have to find her? What does she have to do with Madara?"

"Naruto… Sasuke kidnapped Kou and took her to Madara's hide out. They're going to kill her after they use her to destroy the spirit world, thus destroying our world," said the Hokage calmly as she opened her eyes.

Naruto sat in disbelief, _Kou…Sasuke… what the hell is going on?_

The nine tails jinjuriki recovered his composure and looked up at his Hokage with a motivated look, "Whatever this mission is I will do anything to save Kou…and I want to fight Sasuke."

Tsunade smirked and lowered her hands, "I thought as much. Alright gentleman lets plan our rescue mission.


	12. Chapter 12

_So I realize updates have been scarce and short but I promise I have a good excuse. I've had mono and was diagnosed with a heart condition which mixed with mono is not good, but I'm healthy now and caught up on my schoolwork so hopefully I can update more often. BTW Don't own Naruto._

She didn't know what was more annoying the throbbing in her head on the constant dripping inside what she could only assume was a cave. When she had been dragged into this cell she heard the iron doors close and felt the rock underneath her. Under normal circumstance this prison would be no problem for Kou to escape from, but she was in no condition to escape.

When Sasuke had carried her to Madara's hide out she had been unconscious. When she awoke she found her hands tied with chakra suppressing clamps that had dug into her skin and made her wrists bleed. Hazily she tried to feel where she was and found she was suspended in the air, just above the ground so she could not touch it. She heard Madara Uchiha chuckle, and knew Sasuke was in the room. She could smell his wonderful scent, a smell that she knew after a wonderful few months in his arms that she quickly began to forget as her anger rose.

"Hello lady Kou I hope you're not too uncomfortable," said Madara as he paced circles around her.

"I've actually never been so relaxed," spit back Kou. "Once I get out of this you'll be the one walking around like you've had a stick shoved up your ass."

Madara stopped his pacing and shook his head, "Temper, temper young kunoichi. There is no place for emotions in the ninja world." He paused and she could feel him smirk, "Isn't that right Sasuke."

The younger Uchiha replied with "Hn." Sasuke had betrayed her. She had given him her trust… and her heart. Kou slumped in her chains and closed her eyes. She had always done her best to keep her cool, but she opened her eyes and screamed.

"Damn it Sasuke! Why!" she cried. The tears streamed down her cheeks.

Sasuke stood impassively in front of her, his face emotionless and cold. "You were a fool to believe I had changed. I betrayed you so Madara would give me Itachi's eyes, and now that I have them I will be unstoppable."

His words hit her and she shivered. He was so cold. She screamed and sobbed in her chains, and began to struggle.

"That's it lady Kou struggle, fight, bring out your spirit state," sneered Madara.

Kou paused and realized instantly what his plan was. If he killed her while she was in the spirit state the gate to the spirit world would open. Madara was powerful enough to destroy the spirit world, and once he had done that he would continue his plans to destroy this world as well. All he had to do was get there. The blind kunoichi stopped and took a deep breath. She relaxed in her chains and attempted to meditate.

"It seems the spirit guardian has figured out our plans, well no matter. Sasuke if you would please encourage this lovely young lady," ordered the older Uchiha.

Sasuke walked towards Kou, and without a care formed hand signs, but before he could finish Madara stopped him, "Wait… I want you to save your chakra her sensei has probably gone to the allies for help. I'm sure you're friends will be here before nightfall." His sneer grew even wider, "maybe even Naruto will join our little party." Sasuke stepped back and waited to see what the older Uchiha had in mind.

Madara summoned a guard from the corner. Kou shook herself from her meditative state as she heard another ninja's footsteps coming towards her. She waited, and had never felt so helpless. She had trained for years to become a shinobi despite her lack of sight, but right here tide up and dangling she felt that her death would only be minutes away. She would not let them kill her in the spirit state no matter what it took, no matter what type of torture they performed on her she would die a true spirit guardian. Madara could not enter the spirit world, and she would just have to let the others protect this world. She closed her eyes and meditated again even if she died right here and right now, she knew Naruto and the others would overcome any obstacle in their way.

"You know what to do," said Madara. He and Sasuke began to walk out of the room as the unknown ninja walked menacingly toward Kou. "Come Sasuke we will watch from the corner I think this will get a bit messy."

The ninja made hand signs, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" He aimed the blast at Kou's feet as the kunoichi screamed in pain. She fought her seal that began to release itself. The ninja stopped and waited.

Kou took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, but the ninja began the jutsu again this time aiming at her back. Again the seal tired to release, but Kou suppressed it once more as she screamed in agony.

Meanwhile Sasuke and Madara watched from a small distance away. "That idiot if he kills her now she will be useless," scoffed Madara as he looked at the torture in front of him. Sasuke merely looked on silently.

Kou remained conscious, but she could feel herself giving into the pain. She would pass out soon, and if she did she would not be able to control the seal releasing itself. Her life couldn't flash before her eyes like many on the brink of death had recounted. She had lost her sight at such a young age that she had no memories of people, places or things. She did recount some feelings she remembered experiencing, the feeling of mastering earth manipulation, the first time she heard the sounds of the forest, the sound of her favorite waterfall and finally the feeling of kissing Sasuke for the first time. The only thing she could remember seeing was her mother who flashed quickly into Kou's mind, smiling her warm smile, before another fire blast hit her back. She had a sense of vertigo before she felt nothing and passed out in her chains.

The unknown ninja went to take aim again before he was stopped by Madara's order from the corner of the room, "We can't have her die before the seal has a chance to break. Get that snake Kabuto in here to heal her, and then throw her back in her cell. Her control over the seal will grow weaker with some time."

The ninja bowed as Madara and Sasuke emerged from the shadows. From the floor in front of them a figure grew up from the tile. Kabuto with his snake in tow appeared and quickly bowed before Madara.

"You called Uchiha?" hissed the snake like figure.

"You have medical talents heal the girl enough so she'll live but no more," warned Madara.

Kabuto walked over to the unconscious girl hanging from the ceiling, "Over done a bit, but I think with the help of Lord Orochimaru's chakra I can save her." His scaly hands emerged from his black robes and began to heal Kou's back, which was so charred that her tattoo was mutilated beyond recognition.

After a few minutes Kabuto stepped away from Kou and signaled he was finished. Madara ordered some of his minions to drag the kunoichi away. Sasuke continued to watch unimpressed by the scene that had just unfolded. The three men stood in a triangle waiting for further instruction from Madara.

He finally spoke after taking time to ponder what to do next, "Kabuto get your army of the undead ready to attack in the morning. Sasuke tell Zetsu to also ready his clones and have our other ninja ready to go as well. I have a feeling a search party for the spirit guardian will arrive by tomorrow, and I want to attack the alliance while some of their best shinobi are sent here to rescue Kou."

Kabuto bowed with a hissing response, "That will not be a problem my Impure World Resurrection technique has been used on those you requested. Everything will be prepared shortly." He disappeared through the floor leaving only Sasuke and Madara.

"Are you ready to face the nine tails boy?" asked Madara as they began to walk out of the torture chamber.

Sasuke only responded with a nod, and leapt ahead to inform Zetsu and carry out the rest of Madara's orders. The older Uchiha paused and looked back at the empty chains that hung in the middle of the room. He could smell the charred flesh that lingered and smiled underneath his mask, "That brat can't last long under such painful torcher she'll give in and both this world and the spirit world will be mine." Madara chuckled as if he had told a joke to himself and left the room.

So here she was lying on stone, in terrible amounts of pain, topless, and half alive. Kou's feet had not been healed so she could not sense the earth. Her hands were bound behind her back which still felt like it was on fire. She knew there was a large scar on her back and only remnants of her seal's tattoo remained, but the chakra from the seal remained intact and in her control. Her hair had also been burned and she could no longer feel her braid on her back. Her shirt along with her mother's ribbon had been lost to the attack, only her spandex shorts remained.

Kou managed to sit up gasping in pain, and shuffled herself over to a wall to lean on. She smelled her own charred skin and felt like she would be sick. She kept herself together and tried to close her eyes and meditate.

She wanted to die. All she wanted to do was let it be over, the pain, the suffering, the feeling of absolute betrayal. Kou began to sob against the rock wall.

After a few minutes of giving into her emotions Kou felt a tingling on her back, "No not now he'll win," she whispered. Her seal was releasing and she felt the symbols go up her back and neck, then down her arms and legs. Her eyes began to glow and she slumped onto the floor.

Kou could see, which meant she had to be in the spirit world, but how? She could only enter the spirit world when she summoned her seal to release. She stood up from the black floor. All around her was fog, but it was warm here.

She was clothed in the spirit world as well and her hair was back. She wore the black robes of a monk and her mother's ribbon was tied around her waist.

The kunoichi looked around to try and find a reason for why she was here, and then suddenly she saw a figure walking towards her. She could tell the unknown person was a female. As they got closer Kou knew exactly who was coming towards her. "Mother," she whispered in shock.

Miya walked towards her daughter wearing a white dress with a deep v-neck and three quarter sleeves. Her black hair was tied in a bun and she wore no shoes. She had emerald green eyes, and as she continued to get closer Kou could tell she was smiling.

Miya stopped a few feet from her daughter and opened her arms, "my dear I think I need a proper hug."

Kou ran into her mother's arms and they embraced with tears in their eyes, "Mom… how? Why?"

"I knew you were in trouble how could I not come to your side in your greatest time of need? I had originally planned to come to you during a special moment, but no time like the present I guess," replied her mother as they backed away from one another.

"Did I die mom?" asked Kou confused.

"No. Before I died I implanted a little of my chakra in you while you were sleeping. I decided while you were in your cell away from that monster Madara that I would summon you to the spirit world."

Miya sat down cross legged and motioned for her daughter to do the same, "You've grown into a beautiful woman my love."

Kou laughed a little and sat beside her mother, "Mom can I come with you? If I die now Madara won't be able to get in the spirit world."

"Now that would be the easy way out wouldn't it?" frowned Miya.

Kou also frowned and looked away, "Yeah I guess. But what if he succeeds? What if I let everybody down and he takes over both worlds?"

"Where is that stubborn little girl I raised? If I recall correctly you told that Sasuke boy you were going to be the greatest ninja ever."

"He betrayed me mom, he betrayed everyone. He gave me to Madara and I trusted him. I was too stupid to realize he'd turn on me."

"I think you're missing something Kou. Look deep inside yourself and into Sasuke's soul. I think you'll realize there is more at work here than you think."

"Mom he stood by and let that ninja burn me," yelled the spirit guardian.

"Calm down and listen here miss brat," said Miya as she poked her daughter in the forehead. "You are not to give up, and if I see you in the spirit world sooner that you should be I will make sure I never let your soul rest!" Miya was dead serious and knew she had gotten her daughter's attention. Kou sighed and straightened.

"Mom I can't do this alone."

Miya stood and took her daughters hand in hers to help her up. Both women stood and stared at one another. "Kou my love you are never alone."

Miya began to fade, "Mom! Mom no, don't leave me please!"

"Believe in yourself Kou and I promise help will come to you once you stand on your own two feet." And with that Miya disappeared into the fog. Kou was left alone and she fell to her knees, she had never cried so much in her life.

She felt a pulling force and was drawn back into the living world. She opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness, "I won't let you down mom I promise."

Kou continued to lean against the stone wall and meditated calmly. The pain seemed to subside and she waited for the next move. She purposely placed her ear on the stone wall so she could hear if someone was coming. Madara was an idiot for doubting how resourceful she was. Her mother had given her hope and there was no way that monster could take it away.

Her waiting suddenly seemed to pay off, she sensed him. He had grown stronger since the last time they met. His chakra was very different, it was warm and powerful. It reminded her of the sun. It was Naruto.

Naruto charged through the trees hell bent on finding his friend. The mission was simple locate Kou; get her the hell out of that place, and destroy Madara, simple, but easier said than done. Tsunade herself had assembled their team she was willing to give up some of the strongest shinobi for this mission, but she couldn't afford to give up to many men. Their recon team had notified them in the middle of the planning that the enemy was on the move, and the alliance had to prepare for battle.

Kakashi was their captain and followed behind Naruto, Sakura was chosen to be their medic. Tsunade also knew Sakura would never let them go knowing Sasuke was involved. Behind the cherry blossom was Master Daichi, after all it was his student they were rescuing. Sai brought up the rear. He had been a part of team seven long enough to know this mission was incredibly important to Naruto and Sakura, and there was no way he was going to miss it. It was a small team, but skilled and everyone knew there was a chance that none of them would come out alive.

Bee had stayed behind with the alliance to help against the main enemy, that and there was no way his brother would let two jinchuriki go into Madara's hide out. The mission was incredibly risky. If Naruto did not succeed he would be taken by Madara and Kou would be killed, but failure was nowhere near the nine tail jinchuriki's mind. Naruto stopped suddenly almost causing a ninja pile up.

"Idiot what are you doing?" shouted Sakura, but she quickly silenced herself when she saw the look on her best friends face. She had never seen him so serious.

Naruto allowed the nine tails chakra to flow through him, and he began to glow gold. Sakura stood stunned by his appearance and the feeling of his chakra. He had gotten so strong and she began to question if she would be any use on this mission at all.

Before her self-pity could continue Sai tapped her on the shoulder, she turned and he smiled. "I think it's obvious we are only back up but remember he can't do this alone."

Sakura sighed and returned with a small smile of her own. Sai had read her mind somehow. They all turned to Naruto and waited for instruction. He had located Kou quickly when they had been at base camp, but he also had said her chakra was weak.

"It spiked, her chakra feels really weird," said Naruto softly.

Daichi leapt to Naruto's branch and closed his eyes, "She's entered the spirit state."

All of them looked wide eyed. "What if Madara succeeded in forcing her…" Sakura began but was cut off by the old monk.

"She would never let him do that. I think there is another reason for her to enter the spirit world," he opened his eyes and smiled at Naruto, "Her mother must be with her."

Everyone except Daichi and Naruto were confused. "Long story," said Naruto with a smile. He signaled for them to continue moving.

Kou smirked to herself as she could feel Naruto getting closer. She could only assume her sensei was with him. Hope flowed through her veins and she felt herself gain some strength back. Suddenly she heard a vibration through the rock wall and realized someone was coming. She heard the creek of the rusty iron door to the dungeon open then close. The footsteps grew closer, and she recognized who her visitor was by his sweet smell. "Sasuke," she whispered.

There was a tense silent pause between them as Sasuke looked over her condition. He was still adjusting to being able to see again, but Itachi's eyes gave him perfect vision. He saw her lying there half naked and mangled. She looked nothing like the woman he had trained with for five months, but he appeared to not give a flying fuck about the fact that his best friend had been brought to her knees. She didn't even acknowledge his presence instead she sat quietly and waited for him to make a move.

He tossed a light blue robe from his pack to her through her cell. "Put that on you'll need it," he said quietly.

Kou spat on the ground and looked up into his direction, "You know he's coming right?" She spoke calmly as if they were having a typical conversation in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Of course, did you really think that bitch could keep him on that island forever? He has to face me it's our destiny."

"So you'll just let them take me?" she asked as she reached for the robe. She wrapped it around her body, "Won't your master get pissed?"

"No one is my master. I needed Itachi's eyes and bait to draw the idiot here," said Sasuke. He sighed and closed his eyes, "I gained your trust so taking you wouldn't be annoying."

Kou twitched in annoyance and then winced from the pain of moving, "He'll destroy you. I sensed his chakra and it's amazing."

Sasuke smirked at this and chuckled softly, "You're a fool for thinking I ever showed you my true strength, plus with my new eyes I am more powerful than ever."

Kou responded with a soft chuckle as well. Sasuke glared, "You're going to die here and yet you seem to find everything amusing."

"I find it funny that you think just because you have your brother's eyes it means you're a better ninja. The fact you had to rely on someone else in order to gain power is pathetic." Kou paused knowing she hit a nerve, "You're weak and I promise that if Naruto doesn't kill you I will."

Sasuke punched the bars that separated them. They snapped and he leapt in front of her and pulled her up by the collar, "We'll see who's alive when all is said and done."

Kou smirked at him, the smirk he always had hated, the smirk that haunted him, "You're a good actor, but you can't fool me. I can hear your heart beat… you're lying."

Sasuke dropped her on the ground with a thud. She cried out in pain as she landed on her back, but that didn't stop her from dragging herself upright. She kneeled and looked up at him still smirking, "Times up."

There was a loud crack and an explosion of rock. When the dust cleared team seven plus Daichi stood in the rubble of the prison. Sakura was breathing heavy; it had been her who had punched through the stone.

Naruto stared at Sasuke, who was standing over Kou's body. "Sasuke," he whispered threateningly. Both men took a defensive stance.

"Sakura, Kakshi-sensei, Sai, Old man monk, take Kou and get out of here," ordered Nartuo.

"What if Madara shows up?" asked Sai defiantly as he too took a defensive stance.

"I think the bastard and I can take our fight somewhere else, where we'll have no interruptions. Isn't that right Sasuke?"

The Uchiha nodded and tossed Kou's body over to Sakura like a rag doll. The rivals leaped into the forest and disappeared.

Sakura began to examine an unconscious Kou, "She's hurt bad, but I can save her."

"Let's get out of here and set up camp. We'll wait for Naruto there," ordered Kakashi.

"Shouldn't we help the boy?" asked Daichi who had also knelt down to examine his student.

"No this is a fight between them. Sakura, Sai let's go."With that the group jumped away to find shelter.

Meanwhile Sasuke and Naruto stood in a clearing in the forest away from Madara's hideout. They were both ready for battle. Naruto had entered sage mode, while Sasuke's sharingan was activated.

"I think we've both been waiting for this for a long time," said Naruto with a smirk.

Sasuke nodded and began to run at his opponent, chidori in hand. Naruto took off as well after creating a clone to help him create his rasengan.

"Sasuke!"

"Naruto!"


	13. Chapter 13

_Don't own Naruto, and thank you to all the reviews, favorites and followers._

Kou could hear the sounds of a forest as she felt herself come to. Her head ached and her body felt stiff. She opened her eyes to her normal blackness, but she knew she was alive. Where she was or who she was with, well that was another matter all together.

The blind kunoichi's ninja instincts began to kick in as she used her hands to feel the ground. She realized there were three people sleeping in a circle around a campfire, and another sitting in a tree not far off. She could hear the heart beats of the three sleeping ninja, and knew they were out cold. The fourth had to be their look out, so Kou focused her senses on that person. She sighed in relief when she realized it was her teacher's chakra that she sensed.

Her rescuers had come, but why was Naruto not among them? She could normally sense his chakra immediately. Kou tried to get up, but her body was still not fully recovered. She collapsed back onto the make shift bed of branches, leaves and a blanket.

Kou settled for at least surveying her own body's condition before she went looking for answers about Naruto and her other rescuers. She used her right hand to balance herself upright, while she used the left to touch her body. Her heart rate was strong and normal when she felt her chest. She raised her hand to her face and head. When she reached to feel the top of her head she paused and groaned. Her hair had been shaved completely off.

The blind kunoichi sat in silence with her hand resting on top of her head. She looked down and felt a wave of sorrow come over her. Hair was not necessarily the most important part of her life, but the idea of being bald was not very appealing to her. She didn't feel like a woman at this moment, in fact she didn't feel like anything worthwhile. She had been so easily tricked and they had tortured her to the point that she could barley function. It had been so easy for them…for him…Sasuke. She bent her head low at the thought of the Uchiha. Before her self-pity could continue Kou shook herself when she remembered the situation she was in.

After regaining her composure she attempted to touch her back. She still wore the robe Sasuke had tossed to her, so she reached under it. Her seal had been replaced, and her back was completely healed. Kou gave a sigh of relief as she began to reach for her feet. She only had to graze the bottoms to know they had been healed as well.

_I may be bald, but I'm not helpless anymore. _She thought to herself with a small smile.

She shuffled her feet so they were flat on the ground and her legs bent as she laid flat on her back. She closed her eyes and concentrated. All the vibrations of the forest came through, up her feet and into her body. She could recognize all of them, running water was toward the east about a mile away, a large deer herd was three miles away toward the west, and toward the south…

Kou bolted upright and ignored her body's plea to lie back down. She stood, panicked as she searched her master's chakra, "Master Daichi!" she screamed desperately.

The three sleeping ninja jumped up with a start and began to survey the area. Kou ignored the feeling of their stares as they realized they had been woken up for no reason. Her master meanwhile had leaped from his perch and ran to his student.

"What is it Kou? Are you in pain?" he asked breathlessly.

"Take me to Sasuke and Naruto. I felt them…there's a huge fight," replied the distraught kunoichi.

She began to move towards them before she was grabbed by a firm grip. It was the tallest of the ninja, and Kou could detect the sharingan's chakra. She quickly remembered Sasuke's story of his sensei Kakashi.

"It's ok lady Kou those two have had this coming for a while. It's best we let them duke it out. Once it's over we'll figure out what to do. In the mean time you should rest," said Kakashi calmly.

"But Sasuke could kill Naruto. He'll take him to Madara…"

"And I thought Naruto said you were one of the only people that understood him," came another male voice. He smiled and for some reason the feeling of it creeped Kou out a bit.

"But…"

"Lie back down and trust in Naruto. He never gives up… believe it," said Kakashi as he retracted his arm.

Kou relaxed and sat down next to the fire. Everyone followed suit and they sat in a circle peering into the flames. Various sounds from the battle going on some distance away could be heard, and the ninja sat on edge.

Kou broke the silence, "who are you guys anyway and how did I get healed so well?"

Daichi smiled, "well it wasn't pretty, but Sakura here has quite a knack for medicine."

Sakura nodded, "You'll have some permanent scarring on your back, but your feet are perfectly fine. You're master told me you need your feet to…uh…see I guess."

Kou laughed a little, "I don't see exactly, but close enough. Thank you I appreciate it."Another tense pause set in as they heard a tree come crashing down.

Sai broke the silence this time, "My name is Sai. It is very nice to meet someone who is blind and not totally helpless." Kou felt his creepy smile again and felt a desire to punch him for his comment.

She heard a "thwap" and felt Sai's body hit the ground. "Sorry he's not really a people person. He tends to say whatever he wants," replied an annoyed Sakura.

Kou assumed she was the one who had hit him. Kakashi raised his hand, but before he spoke Kou turned in his direction, "I'm glad to finally meet you Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke and Naruto spoke of your sharingan ability."

"How did you…"

"I know the sharingan's chakra like the back of my hand...or… well you get what I mean," giggled Kou. Everyone also chuckled.

"I'm glad you're feeling better Kou. When I saw they had damaged your seal I didn't think you'd make it," said Daichi concerned.

"It took everything I had not to give into the spirit state when they tortured me. It tried to defend me… by the way when did you remake the seal master?" asked Kou as she reached for her back.

"Sakura also seems to be a quick learner when it comes to seals. She helped me with the chakra, while Sai drew the tattoo."

Sai regained consciousness and sat up, "Your master said you like white lotuses. So do I."

Kou relaxed a little. These people were friends of Naruto's so they had to be good and trust worthy, despite the weird vibe she got when Sai smiled.

Sakura cleared her throat, "By the way…your hair…" She paused and shied away a bit.

"It's ok. I'm sure you did your best to save it, how can I be mad when you saved my life?" replied Kou with a smile.

Sakura eased and nodded, _Shes the exact opposite of Ino-pig. Ino would rather die than be bald. _Sakura smiled at the idea of Ino's blonde locks being shaved off her head, and the temper tantrum that would ultimately ensue.

Daichi handed Kou a deep red colored scarf, "Your mother had more than one red scarf. I noticed the other was destroyed. I carried this one from our home."

"Thank you master," said Kou as she tied the scarf around her head. She knotted it in the back to look like a bun. When she finished another loud explosion came from the direction of the fight. Kou jumped up, "We have to do something we can't just sit here."

Kakashi spoke up, "This has to be between the two of them. Neither will ever be at peace if we don't let them work this out."

"Besides we should plan on what to do when Naruto gets back. Our other mission goal is to infiltrate Madara's hide out and try to stop him," said Daichi pulling on the sleeve of Kou's robe. She sat back down with a humph. _So impatient _thought the old monk with a chuckle.

"I'll take watch," said Sai as he stood. The pale ninja jumped up into the trees and disappeared.

Daichi leaned back with his hands behind his head, "I think I'll try and catch a little shut eye."

Kakashi stood, "I'll get some more fire wood." He walked into the forest.

Sakura and Kou were left sitting awkwardly. Kou knew how Sakura felt about Sasuke, and she had no idea if the cherry blossom knew about the relationship she had with the Uchiha over the past few months. Well it wouldn't do any good to just sit and stare off into space, that and silence always bothered the blind kunoichi.

She chuckled, "I'm surprised you didn't let me die so you'd have less competition for Sasuke's heart," said Kou bluntly.

Sakura sat stunned. Kou couldn't see her face, but she knew she had struck a chord by the way her fellow kunoichi's heart rate spiked. "Why would you say something like that?" Sakura asked confused.

"I figured we'd just get this out of the way. That traitorous bastard and I were best friends growing up. We wrote letters while I was away training… but the letters stopped when he went to Orochimaru." Kou paused and let this sink in. When there was no response from Sakura she continued.

"He came to the temple blind and wanted my help. I thought I could change him, convince him to fight for the alliance instead of Madara." She paused again and sighed, "Turned out real well as you can see."

Sakura sat stunned. They had been briefly informed on their way to the area about Sasuke and what he had done at the temple, but Kou seemed to make everything feel all the more real,"you loved him didn't you?"

Kou laughed a little, and then turned her head toward the sky. She could feel a bit of a breeze on her face, "Love is such a strong word… but yes I guess I did."

"I did too; I don't know how I feel now. I was such a child back then…" Sakura stopped and looked to the ground. Kou looked toward her direction.

"Guess that makes us sisters."

Sakura looked back up at her and realized this woman probably knew more about her than she would care to reveal to a stranger. Sasuke and Naruto must have said something about her while they had trained with the spirit guardian, but why had the boys never mentioned her to Sakura?"

Kou seemed to read her mind, "They probably never said anything about me, because no one was allowed to know my location. Its better that people didn't know I even existed, but they spoke to me about you." Kou paused then laughed, "especially Naruto. He loves you something fierce."

Sakura was amazed at this woman's bluntness, but appreciated it in some way. She blushed a little at Kou's last comment, but relaxed. She didn't feel so alone. They both had had their hearts broken by Sasuke, and both were willing to go to extreme lengths to help the people they loved.

The cherry blossom smiled, "He's an idiot." They both laughed at this and began to share stories. Kakashi returned with fire wood and sat with the kunoichi. He pulled out his favorite book, but participated in the conversation occasionally giving color commentary to Sakura's stories.

Daichi who had fallen asleep woke to the sound of his pupil laughing, _even in a time like this you find a way to make everyone laugh and relax. You're something else my dear. _The old monk smiled and fell back asleep to the voices of his new comrades.

**Meanwhile**

Sasuke fell to one knee and panted in exhaustion. They had been at this for hours. He saw Naruto across from him who was bent over trying to catch his breath.

The Uchiha had his mangekyou sharingan activated. Susanoo's blue ribs surrounded him. Even now the energy from his defense had kept its blue hue despite his betrayal of Kou. He was bleeding from a minor cut on his left arm, but there was a major wound on his stomach. Naruto had grazed him with his wind style rasengan, and despite it not being a direct hit the damage had been quite severe.

Naruto had his sage mode activated, but he knew it would not be enough to defeat his rival. He had many scattered cuts around his body and a large bleeding wound on his right thigh. He had been able to avoid amaterasu, whose black flames were scattered around them. The wound had been caused by Sasuke's Kirin.

Sasuke had thought his Kirin would have destroyed Naruto, but the jinchuriki had been clever. He had had many rubber kunai made for him back at the village. He created numerous clones who had surrounded him and helped to re-direct most of the attack. Of course some of the lightning had made contact resulting in a major injury.

Sasuke stood back up and Naruto mirrored his movement. They glared and began to gather chakra. This was it this had to be the last strike. Neither man seemed to care if they died as they stared one another down and powered up their attacks.

Naruto began to glow yellow as he allowed the nine tails chakra to envelope his body. Two tail-like apparitions appeared out of his back and rose above his head. A giant rasengan began to form.

Sasuke followed suit as Susanoo's arms grew out from the ribs. A huge chidori formed in the right arm and screeched its birdlike sound.

"It doesn't have to be this way. We need your help. Do it for Kou…do it forItachi," screamed Naruto as the rasengan intensified.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the mentioning of his brother's name, "What do you know about my brother?" yelled the Uchiha.

"He told me I was the only one who could help you, who understood you. Madara trapped me and told me about the mission, your clan, and the elders."

Naruto used his real right arm and placed it across his chest, his hand on his heart. "I know what it's like to lose everything. Pein killed my sensei, my only father figure…"

"Shut up!" The chidori began to intensify.

"I know about my real parents now too. Madara killed them both. He used the nine tails against the village and my mother and father died trying to protect me and the village. Itachi was like them, Sasuke. He would have wanted you to help defend the village, defend the world."

Naruto paused to see if Sasuke reacted. The Uchiha responded with a sneer, "I know what my brother wants me to do, but this is what **I** want to do."

Sasuke began to run at Naruto, who commanded the tail-arms to thrust forward as he ran at his rival. They both screamed and there was a bright light and large explosion.

Kou stood from her spot as she felt two massive chakras connect and explode. The sound was just as massive and died away, leaving a strained silence.

"That had to be their final strike," she whispered to herself.

Kakashi and Sakura also stood and stared in the direction of the explosion. Daichi rose up onto his elbows and closed his eyes as he tried to find the two boy's chakras. Sai leapt down from the trees and walked over to the group. Kou also closed her eyes and focused on finding Naruto and Sasuke's chakra. Everyone was silent as they waited for the monk and his pupil to give them an update.

"I can't sense them they're either too far away or…" Kou trailed off when she thought of the alternative. Daichi opened his eyes and stared at the group. There was a solemn and nervous feel in the air.

Kou heard a twig break and whipped her head in the direction of the sound. She took off and ran into the woods.

Kakashi went to stop her, but Daichi stood and grabbed his sleeve. The monk shook his head and signaled for them to stay put.

Kou ran into the woods as fast as she could and came upon Naruto who was heavily injured and leaning on a tree. She could feel his chakra had gone down to almost zero, but he smiled at her anyway. "Hey Blind Bat, how the hell are ya?"

Kou smiled and felt her way over to him and positioned him on her back to carry him, "I look a hell of a lot better than you asshole."

She carried him toward the camp and emerged from the woods to have Sakura and Sai run to her side and take Naruto from her back. They made their way over to the camp fire, where Sakura began to heal his most serious wounds first. Sai began to work on creating a more suitable bed for the blonde, Kou stood next to Daichi and Kakashi watching, and waiting.

For what seemed like hours Sakura pumped her healing chakra into her teammate with tears streaming down her face. Kou walked up behind the pink haired medic and placed a hand on her shoulder, "He'll be ok. He's so stubborn you know that. You have to concentrate don't let all these emotions cloud your skill."

Kou stepped back and knelt next to her friend who lied motionless. She grabbed his hand and held it tight as Sakura shook her head, whipped her tears, and focused harder on her patient.

After a few moments the medic leaned back and sighed, "He's stable. Move him to that bed Sai made."

Kakashi and Sai walked over and picked Naruto up and moved him to the make shift bed. Kou let go of his hand and helped a wobbly Sakura stand.

Daichi signaled for all of them to give Naruto some space, and they surrounded the camp fire once again. Daichi sat behind Sakura and began to pump some of his chakra into her, in order to help her gain her strength back, "You truly are lady Tsunade's prodigy."

"He was touch and go for a little while there, but he'll be better in the morning. You know how fast he heals," replied Sakura exhausted.

After Daichi finished the pink haired girl walked over and sat beside her unconscious comrade. She grabbed his hand and became lost in her thoughts.

"We need to think of a plan. Naruto's alive and lady Kou is recovering nicely. I have a feeling Madara will make his move against the alliance whether Sasuke is dead or not," said Kakashi after a long silence.

"I was unconscious for most of my time inside the lair. I don't know how well I'll be able to lead you through it," replied Kou disappointed.

"It doesn't matter. Naruto's new form should be able to track down Madara, and the place where they're holding the tailed beasts," responded Kakashi.

"We have no idea what kind of security this guy has," piped up Sai.

"Should we even be in such a hurry? Naruto is in no condition to fight…" Daichi began, but stopped when the copy-cat, the pale artist, and the blind kunoichi stared in his direction with smirks.

"When Sakura says Naruto heals fast she means almost instantly," chuckled Kakashi.

The planning began as Kakashi instructed the group on the possibilities they could be facing. He was no Shikamaru, but the copy-cat ninja had a vague idea of the situation they were about to get themselves into. It wouldn't be easy in fact it would almost be impossible to succeed, but he believed in the fourth hokage's son, his pupil, his comrade, Naruto.


	14. Chapter 14

_We are moving along here! The climax to the story will begin right here and now. Thinking about a sequel, but we'll see where the road takes me. BTW I used to be a huge Hina/Naru fan, but I have made the conversion to Naru/Saku pretty much because I think their relationship is becoming less one I still think Hinata is awesome especially after she fought Pein. There's a little of them in this chapter, just to warn you. For now enjoy the rest of DS._

It was dark but he could feel a soft hand entwined in his. It felt warm and he it helped him realize this darkness would not last. All he had to do was open his eyes because he was alive, and it was this hand in his that had saved him. It was a skilled hand but he knew the person whom had this talent did not always know she had it. She is beautiful, his first love, his hope, his strength and she gave him the will to fight.

"Sakura," he whispered as the blonde opened his eyes. The world was hazy at first but as his eyes adjusted, he realized he was at his comrade's campsite.

Sakura lay asleep on the ground, with her hand draped into Naruto's. He sat up slightly to gaze at her and gave her hand a slight squeeze before he released it, and placed it on her chest. He let her sleep a little while longer knowing they would have a long day ahead of them.

Naruto rose from his make shift bed, stretched and walked over to his back pack to change his clothes. After zipping up his jacket and tying his head band he realized he had brought his red coat with black flames. He felt this would be fitting to wear, after all this was going to be the beginning of the end.

After slipping his arms through the jacket the blonde surveyed the campsite, and realized a certain blind kunoichi was missing from her spot. Naruto closed his eyes and sensed her chakra nearby in the forest. He took off to speak with his friend, who he assumed was just as nervous as he was.

The jinchuriki came upon the spirit guardian sitting in a tree she appeared to be staring into the infinite forest. Upon closer inspection he realized she had her eyes closed and he could tell she was meditating. He landed next to her on the large tree branch and sat as she did, cross legged with hands folded in front of the body.

"Feeling better pervy blonde?" said Kou without breaking her position.

"You know I'm not like my old sensei blind bat," replied the blond with a smile of his own. She responded with a choked laugh, which lead to both ninja bursting out with laughter.

After recovering from their fit Kou sat back against the tree and straighten her leg, while letting the other fall loosely over the branch. Naruto did the same, but placed a hand behind him for balance.

"I see you got out of that rag you were wearing baldy," said the blonde with a smirk.

Kou touched her hand to the top of her head where she had wrapped her mother's scarf with a small frown. She had changed into clothes her master had brought. She wore a blue one shoulder cloth that draped like the monks wore their robes. The robe was draped to her mid thigh, but had a slit on both sides. A black ribbon was tied around her waist to keep the fabric in place. She wore her usual black spandex shorts, and a white tank top underneath the robe to cover her other shoulder.

"Master Daichi told me my ancestors have worn this robe for a long time. It's traditional for a master spirit guardian to wear it, personally I think it's a little out dated," she laughed. "And watch it blondie or I'll razor that hair of yours while you sleep so we can match."

Naruto gave a slight shake of his head, but in his mind he didn't doubt that she would follow through with her threat. His smile faded and he became serious, "I haven't seen you in while, did you learn the sealing technique?"

Kou nodded, "You tame the beast?"

"He was a bastard about it, but yeah he's been lending me power that I can control."

"Good. We're gonna need all the help we can get." Kou scratched her arm nervously, "Is he dead?"

Naruto knew immediately who she meant and replied firmly, "No."

That word brought conflicting feelings to Kou. She was relieved, but disappointed at the same time. Part of her knew the Uchiha was a criminal who needed to be taken out, but the other half still allowed her to have feelings for him. Naruto noticed this insecurity and sighed.

"I couldn't kill him. He was knocked out after our final blow, but I couldn't do it."

"You probably didn't even have enough chakra to do it anyway," responded the kunoichi shortly. "When we get inside the lair we have to focus on Madara and if Sasuke gets in our way I'll make sure he's done away with."

Naruto wasn't shocked by her answer. After training with her for over two years he had learned quickly she was bullheaded. It was this trait that had made them such great sparring partners.

"We will deal with things as they fall into place," spoke the jinchuriki softly.

"Now you're actually sounding smart. Are you sure you're not my master disguised?" They chuckled at this comment before regaining their serious mood.

Naruto smiled softly, "We get one shot at this and we're gonna end this war believe it."Kou couldn't help but feel assured by this little pep talk.

"Naruto, Kou lets pack up," came Sakura's voice from the camp.

Both ninja slowly rose to leave the branch but before they took off Kou turned to her friend, "She stayed with you all night, who knows after all your pestering she might actually be giving in."

Naruto gave a large smile and chuckled, "he-he about time who da thought all I had to do was almost die."

Kou frowned and smacked him over the head, "Shut up pervy blond we have a world to save."

They jumped to the ground and began walking towards the camp, "Technically you have two to save blind bat." This comment resulted in another hit upside the head.

When Naruto and Kou reached the campsite everyone was packing up their supplies and cleaning the area of all traces that they had been there. This was all done in silence.

Kou did a self chakra check to make sure she had fully healed, while Sakura probed Naruto to be sure her team mate could handle what they were about to face.

After everyone had finished Kakashi had them meet in a circle to go over their plan one final time.

"Madara will be left up to Naruto and Kou. If we see Sasuke or anyone else we will deal with them accordingly," said the copy cat sternly. "I received a message from Lady Tsunade the allied forces have met up with Madara's army. Someone is using Orochimaru's impure world resurrection. Whoever this person is will also have to be taken out."

The group nodded. All looked deadly serious.

"What else?" asked Sakura.

"Madara's army also consists of plant like beings who I assume are clones. They are derived from the Akatsuki member Zetsu. Killer Bee has met head on with Kisame and the two have taken their fight off the main battle field."

"Bee-sensei wants to make sure no one accidently gets involved and killed. It'll be a tough fight," replied Naruto.

Kakashi looked at his students and realized he had never seen them so serious. He looked to Kou and her master and briefly wondered if these people he didn't know were going to keep his pupils safe, but before his doubt could continue he realized he was talking about the spirit guardian and the man who had trained her. There could be no doubt during this mission and he knew for a fact Sai would rise to the occasion and he found Kou and Daichi to be trust worthy.

Kakashi gave one last statement, "If anyone wants to back out… now's the time to do it."

"We're in this together."

Everyone turned in surprised to Sai who did not have his usual fake façade. His face was etched with motivation and determination; although Kou couldn't see it she felt his presence change from when she first met him.

The group nodded together and Kakashi gave the order that could be his last, "Let's kick that Uchiha's ass."

Naruto gave a "whoop!" before he and his comrades leapt into the trees to begin their search for Madara.

The jinchuriki lead his group through the forest as he tapped within himself to locate the nine tails chakra. Once the chakra was released he began to glow yellow and was quickly able to locate where the other tailed beasts were located.

Naruto turned his head back, "It's not far at all, south of here in about three miles."

They continued single file until Kakashi had them halt and head towards the ground. He nodded to Kou who crouched and placed her hand on the ground.

"There's a cave in a clearing on the other side of this forest. There's some movement underground I can't pin point exactly who's Madara and who is a henchman," she said as she released her hand off the ground.

Daichi closed his eyes and formed a hand seal in front of his body. After a short pause, "I'm a sensor type. Madara's chakra is unmistakable he is in the deepest part of the cave. Sasuke is with him. There is another being as well, his chakra is very interesting it's almost like he has two chakras."

Everyone stared at the monk slightly confused but he continued despite the stares, "There are two others as well they seem to be guarding something I assume it is the area the beasts are held because of the amount of chakra in that room. What do you think Kakashi?"

Kakashi stood in thought, "We're going to have to split up. I originally didn't want this, but we have no choice. Time is of the essence."Everyone nodded in agreement.

The copy cat ninja looked towards the group to think about how to pair up his teams, "Once we're inside I think its obvious Naruto and Kou will head towards Madara. I'll leave it up to you on how to deal with Sasuke. Sakura and I will head to the chamber with this mysterious man. Daichi and Sai will deal with guards in the tail beast chamber. Once you both are through with the guards hold onto your positions and wait for us to meet up with you."

"Shouldn't we send for back up?" asked Sakura concerned.

"We don't have time. All the forces are trying to hold off Madara's army. We're on our own," stated Naruto. He turned to Sakura and smiled, "we can handle this believe it."

Sakura stared at her team mate not convinced. Kou felt her fellow kunoichi's heart rate speed up and could tell the cherry blossom feared for the jinchuriki's life.

"Don't worry Sakura I'll make sure the idiot doesn't get himself killed," said Kou with a smile.

"Enough we can't waste anymore time. Head for the clearing and take out any guards in our way," ordered Kakashi. With that the group took off once again.

Kakashi's team hid scattered amongst the trees. Kou was on the ground trying to find any guards, but she felt no presence. _Why would Madara leave his hiding spot unguarded? _

The clearing lead to a large cave with a giant boulder blocking the entrance, and neither Kou nor Daichi could sense any guards, and Sakura could feel no genjutsu. All gave the signals they had been instructed to give by Kakashi. They walked into the clearing on guard and stared towards the entrance.

"He knows we're here," said Kou disappointed. "He's waiting for us in there."

"Cocky bastard," chimed in Naruto.

"Yeah a cocky bastard with the undead and seven tailed beasts at his disposal, not to mention his sharingan" replied the blind kunoichi.

Kakashi signaled their attention as they circled up for one final instruction, "Kou can the boulder be taken out?"

"I'll need some help in order to save chakra. I'll need as much of it as I can get for when I seal Madara's soul away."

"Not a problem," replied Sakura.

Kakashi nodded at the kunoichi, "Once we're inside head to your assignment quickly." All nodded and looked at one another with slight concern. Kakashi pick up on the sense of doom that seemed to overtake them. He wasn't a speech giver and could only come up with one thing to say, "Kou, Sakura take this rock out."

Kou stood with her legs shoulder width apart in a slight squat. Her arms were also shoulder width apart and pointed upwards. Her fingers were together as she waited for Sakura's signal. Said cherry blossom began to run towards the boulder with a chakra infused fist. Just before she reached the rock she screamed, "Now!"

Kou stamped the ground as hard as she could with her right foot. A large crack in the earth started from her foot towards the boulder and reached it just as Sakura's fist connected. The boulder didn't stand a chance as it crumbled into dust with a loud bang.

"They're going to know we're here. Go as quickly as you can, and good luck," yelled Kakashi as he and his team moved into Madara's lair.

Once inside they paired off and sprinted down their respective paths. Kakashi and Sakura could sense the strange chakra Daichi had been talking about and ran straight for it.

Sai followed Daichi as the old monk led them towards the tailed beasts.

Kou quickly located Madara and Sasuke. Naruto followed with sage mode activated instead of using the kyuubi's chakra. His blind friend had been right they were going to need all the chakra they could get.

* * *

><p>It took seconds for Kakashi and his female student to reach a large, dark room. Both squited their eyes as they began to walk carefully into the room. The strange chakra they had felt earlier was getting stronger as they made their way into the center. Suddenly torches lit themselves and revealed a round, tiled room. Sakura noted the burn marks in the middle, as well as the chains above it. <em>This is where they tortured her. <em>The cherry blossom closed her fist in anger.

"Well, well, well, if it's not the scrawny cherry blossom and her failure of a teacher. I have to admit I was hoping for that blind bitch and loud mouth brat to walk in her, but no matter I'll just kill their best friends," hissed a voice from one end of the room. Sakura and Kakashi took defensive stances back to back, and waited for their enemy to make his first move.

"It sounds like Orochimaru, but I thought Sasuke killed him," stated Sakura nervously.

"You are half correct girl. I am Orochimaru re-born in another body. I am the one you used to call Kabuto, although now I do not feel that name suits me any longer."

The voice seemed to be traveling around the room. The door Kakashi and Sakura had come through closed with a slam and locked itself. Both ninja flinched, and became ever more on edge. Kakashi lifted his head band to reveal his sharingan, while Sakura tightened her gloves on her hands.

"Come out coward!" yelled the cherry blossom, who was becoming more pissed off by the minute.

"I think you will be the one who is quivering in fear my dear, for I am no longer Kabuto," came the voice from a shadowed figure that began to walk towards the ninja. "I am now Kabumaru."

The figure became more visible and revealed a snake like Kabuto, who wore a hooded Akatsuki robe. A white snake was coiled around his shoulder, and his face appeared white and scaled.

Sakura gasped under her breath and her teacher gave a disgusted sigh, "Kabuto must have figured out how to absorb Orochimaru's chakra. He's the one controlling the army of the undead." The copy cat ninja adjusted his stance slightly and moved into a position in which he was should to should by Sakura's side.

"We'll have to be careful Sakura, but it is absolutely necessary we defeat him," continued Kakashi. His student gave a nod, and he could tell determination was written all over her face. She wanted to prove herself as not being worthless that much he knew, and Kakashi didn't blame her after everything they had been through. He was proud of her already, but this was life or death and he wouldn't want anyone else by his side except for her. The copy cat nin placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled with his eyes, "Let's beat the shit out of this guy then go save Naruto's ass." Sakura gave a slight smirk but directed her attention back to the enemy.

Kabumaru smiled evilly, "well let us begin this match of death." He took his own stance and summoned his white serpents to attack the leaf ninja.

* * *

><p>On the other side of the cave Daich and Sai had reached their destination to find the remaining members of Sasuke's team guarding an enormous tree that had seven eyes open and two eyes closed on its branches. Suigetsu and Jugo were positioned in front of the tree and ready for battle.<p>

Jugo had let his curse seal completely consume him and was whispering, "kill, kill, kill," under his breath. Suigetsu stood calmly with his giant sword over his shoulder.

"Looks like we get the pale on eand the old man, no fun huh Jugo," chuckled the swordsman.

Daichi and Sai also took stances to prepare for battle. "That's where they're keeping the tailed beasts seal. Remember once we kill these men we must keep our position," said Daichi without breaking eye contact with his enemy.

"I thought monks didn't kill? What about your vows?" asked the pale ninja with some curiosity.

"Vows are more like guidelines my boy. This is reality and in this moment my vows mean nothing, plus I don't like the smirk on shark boy over there," said the old man with a smirk.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Naruto and Kou had reached a door leading to Madara's chambers. In front of it stood a calm and fully healed Sasuke Uchiha.<p>

Before Naruto could stop her Kou had picked up on Sasuke's presence and ran at him as fast as she could. She grabbed the Uchiha by his collar and pushed him against the wall, "Traitorous bastard!"

"Kou no wait!" yelled a helpless Naruto from behind.

"You idiot I thought we were going to take him out! He works for Madara!"

"Guess you're blind in more ways than one," responded a calm Sasuke with ice in his voice.

"SHUT UP YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!" screamed the kunoichi with tears in her eyes. She shoved Sasuke higher up onto the wall.

"Kou he told me everything when we fought. He's not a traitor… he has a plan and it's a damn good one," said the jinchuriki soothingly. "He turned you into Madara so he could gain access to Itachi's eyes…"

"Exactly he's…"

"Kou listen to the dobe," said Sasuke without as much chill in his voice.

"Bastard here needs Itachi's eyes to help us beat Madara. He knew full well we would come and help you escape," explained Naruto.

"What about when they tortured me? He let them burn me alive," cried Kou loosening her grip somewhat on Sasuke.

"I couldn't blow my cover, I had to appear t be aligned with him."

"But…but…you both fought," she stammered and looked back and forth between the two men.

"It's been a long time coming blind bat. You know that. Sasuke explained everything to me right after we exchanged that last blow. That's why I didn't kill him, and he didn't turn me into Madara."

"Doesn't Madara know now, I mean here you are confessing everything to us. Isn't he in that room?"

"He isn't in that room it's a trap. He thinks I am fighting you both right now. I know where he is and I'm going to take you to him."

"How do we know you're not setting us up?" asked a shaking Kou.

"Listen to my heartbeat…"

Kou dropped the Uchiha and placed her trembling hand on his chest. He was telling the truth, but he had deceived her before… no… this was different. She felt something genuine about the atmosphere in the room. "I still hate your guts spoiled, but Naruto and I can't do this by ourselves. What do you have in mind?"

Sasuke smirked and began to recount his encounter with Itachi while he had been in the spirit world, as well as the plan he had in mind. After he had finished his explanation all three ninja began to make their way down another corridor that was hidden behind a wall. This truly was the beginning of the end.


	15. Chapter 15

_Now that the chaos of the holidays is over I found some time to write. Well then let's just get right to it. Don't own Naruto._

Juugo launched his missile like jutsu towards Sai and Daichi, who separated in an instant. The former Root member began to run along the wall, drawing in his scroll. Juugo ran on the floor with his giant arms outstretched. Sai summoned his tigers who charged the monster below.

Juugo swung wildly defeating most of the beasts, but one escaped his rage and bit into his shoulder. Sai had taken to the air on his bird. He began to summon a giant snake who wrapped around his oponent , holding him in place. Sai leaped from the bird and dove towards the ground, sword in hand. He began to spin gaining further momentum.

Juugo's head was exposed and Sai aimed directly for him. Before he could reach the monster, Juugo screamed and released enormous amounts of energy. Both the snake and the tiger blew apart back into ink, while Sai was launched against the ceiling. The pale ninja felt the wind be knocked out of him and fell to the floor.

Juugo smirked and ran towards his opponent, and his needle for the body absorption technique began to extend from his hand. As he got closer Juugo threw his hand towards Sai only to freeze in place. Juugo looked down to see thousands of small snakes wrapped around his ankles. Sai's body melted into ink and reformed behind Juugo with his sword at the monster's neck.

"I think you need to take a chill pill. I'm sure Sakura has one of those in her pack," spoke Sai into what he could only assume was Juugo's ear.

The monster in his grasp began to laugh, "I will kill you!"

With that an explosion was heard along with a huge flash of light. The snakes below disappeared into ink and Sai was forced into the air again. This time the pale ninja had summoned a backup plan and fell onto his bird.

Sai and his bird circled the area looking for Juugo. He could feel Daichi and Suigetsu's chakra and assumed they had avoided the blast. After locating the beast Sai began to plan his next move, _if he is blasting that much chakra he's going to have to wear out, but I can't count on that. His armor if I remember correctly is as hard as steal, but I noticed his neck is quite vulnerable. Time to take this ugly bastard down. _Sai commanded his bird to dive at the beast and the artist began to draw furiously.

Meanwhile Daichi struggled to battle Suigetsu who turned into water every time the old monk made contact. The shark nin's sword was also keeping Daichi at a distance.

The monk had a chance to pause briefly and prepare himself for the next assault. _I'm not a lightning user, although I could use one right now. He's a water user, and the only thing I have going for me is that there is no major source of liquid in this room._

Suigetsu launched himself at the monk and began to swing his giant sword wildly. Daichi despite his age was nimble and easily evaded the sword's reach. This began to anger the shark ninja whose swings only became wilder and began to destroy the walls and floor.

After Daichi gained himself some distance he began to form hand signs. He lifted his right hand into the air and placed his palm flat, "Earth Style: Rock Shuriken!" The earth shook and formed a giant shuriken above the monk's head. With a yell the weapon launched full force at Suigetsu.

The shark nin blocked the shuriken with his sword initially. The weapon spun hard against the blade and Suigetsu feared for a moment that the sword would break under the force of the rock weapon.

Before the shark nin could move he found himself stuck. Daichi stood behind him with his arms outstretched forward, "Earth Style: Sinking Mud."

The rock shuriken lost momentum and fell at the shark nin's feet, but the water user found himself in a different predicament. He was sinking and the more he struggled the faster he sunk. He turned to see the monk had pulled out a tag with kanji written on it. Upon further inspection it read "Solid Earth."

"I made this tag myself, it is ment to turn liquids into solids so they can be transported or in your case destroyed," replied Daichi to Suigetsu's worried stare.

The water user sighed and began to smirk, "Listen old man you don't stand a chance. You're smart but let's face it you're not exactly the fastest or the strongest bastard. There's no need for a helpless old hag to die today, so just give up so I can help my buddy Juugo kill that pale asshole over there."

"Talking shit, as my student Kou would say, just means you're backed into a corner and can't get out. I think it is you who is in the position to surrender."

"Oh, old man's got a mouth. Well if you won't give up then I'll just have to quicken your inevitable death," said Suigetsu as he placed his sword back on his harness. The shark nin began hand signs.

Daichi ran at his opponent, tag in hand. Just as he reached for Suigetsu's body there was a gurgling noise that stopped the monk in his tracks. Suigetsu began to laugh and slammed his fist into the old man's face.

Daichi was launched backwards into a wall and left a small crater as his body slid onto the floor. Suigetsu began to morph as his muscles bulged from the buildup of chakra. He slowly lifted himself out of the mud trap and straightened himself on the solid floor. He cracked his neck and unsheathed his giant sword.

"Prepare to die old man!" Suigetsu ran with blinding speed at the old monk who appeared to be unconscious and slumped on the floor. His blade was thrust into the monk's chest. With a satisfied smile Suigetsu began to pull his sword away only to hear a small poof.

Daichi's slain body disappeared into a boulder that had been dislodged during Suigetsu's rampage. The shark nin looked around frantically trying to locate his opponent.

Daichi had summoned a wall similar to the walls that surrounded the room and hid behind it. He was wounded from earlier in the fight and needed a chance to think. _That technique, he's faster and stronger than before. _

Suigetsu began to throw his sword around wildly as he searched for the old man. He screamed with rage as the room began to look unrecognizable from damage. Walls fell and the floor began to transform into rubble. Daichi knew he only had a small amount of time before the shark nin destroyed the wall he was hidden behind. One of Suigetsu's swings made contact with the ceiling and ruble fell to the floor. Daichi looked up and saw some wires exposed from damage. He remembered from the trek to this room that there were lights in the passageways in the caves; _I guess I found that lightning user I was wishing for. _After a quick peek around his wall Daichi located a light switch on one of the remaining walls across the room.

The monk took a moment to breath and said a quick prayer, "Forgive me, but I must take this life in order to save all others." Daichi opened his eyes and sent chakra to his feet. He leapt from behind his man made wall and let out a battle cry.

Suigetsu turned with his blood thirsty eyes and stared at his opponent who ran at him with renewed speed. The shark nin smirked and also began to run.

Suigetsu swung and missed a diving Daichi. The shark nin turned into water as the old monk dove threw him and rolled. After landing onto his feet Daichi jumped up towards the ceiling and tied his ninja string around the wires, being careful to not shock himself.

Suigetsu stood below and looked up at Daichi. The monk was smart enough to cover what he was doing with his body, "Come down here you old hag I'm sick of you playing these games!"

Daichi landed on the floor a few feet from his opponent and began to form hand signs.

"C'mon you bastard I know you can do better than that!" cried the shark nin who launched himself at the monk at full speed.

"Earth Style: Rock Shuriken," cried Daichi as he took the same stance from his earlier attack.

This time however there were three smaller shuriken. Daichi launched his rock weapons at the oncoming Suigetsu who turned into water as the shuriken passed through him. The shark nin punched the monk with all his might and Daichi was once again launched backwards into a wall.

Suigetsu stood upright and began to walk towards the monk for a final blow. Daichi who sat slumped against one of the remaining walls pulled himself to his feet weakly and place his hand on the light switch he had located while in hiding. Suigetsu paused and laughed.

"You're an idiot for standing up again old hag, you should have stayed down. I would have made it quicker."

"I'm afraid that you will be dyeing before I do my boy. I don't like to see such youth wasted so early in life…," the monk began to cough up blood, which only made Suigetsu laugh more. "But for you I'll make an exception. As Kou would say, see you in hell asshole!"

Daichi threw a small rock shuriken that forced Suigetsu to turn into water. As the boy transformed the old monk flicked the light switched and prayed it was connected to the wires he had chosen.

Electricity began to send a current through the wires that Suigetsu had not seen before. These wires were going right through him as he began to reform. Right before he could move aside the electricity reached his body and sent a current through the water he had become.

The shark nin screamed in pain and sunk into a puddle on the floor. He was unconscious, but not dead.

Daichi hobbled his way over to the puddle that still had Suigetsu's face and looked to be the colors of his clothes. The boy's sword lay on the floor to the side. The monk threw his "Solid Earth" tag onto the puddle that turned into a rock on impact. The small boulder still contained the face and color of the shark nin. Daichi weakly lifted his opponents sword and swung it as hard as he could onto the rock. It shattered into thousands of pieces and marked the end of another member of team Hebi. Daichi smirked; he had used up almost all of his chakra, was bruised, and had a few deep wounds on his back and chest, but the old monk felt like he was in his twenties again. He fell to ground and let the darkness consume him.

Sai struggled to avoid falling debris along with Juugo's blasts of energy. The ruble was coming from across the room. He assumed Daichi and Suigetsu's fight was escalating. His own opponent simply ran through the falling debris making it explode into tiny pieces.

The art ninja sent three lions to distract Juugo while he tried to formulate a plan. These ink beasts were done away with immediately, leaving Sai no time to realize a giant arm reaching towards him. He was struck hard by Juugo's fist and was stuck firmly in the monster's grip.

Sai tried to struggle but Juugo only tightened his grip. Sai let out a painful scream as the beast tried to crust his body.

Off in the distance both ninja could see a flash of light and shortly thereafter a loud, shattering crash. Juugo stopped crushing Sai and let him go. The art ninja fell to the ground and coughed for air.

Juugo had returned to his human form and stared in the direction his team mate should have been fighting the old monk. He could not detect Suigetsu's chakra, and knew if the shark nin had won the fight he would have been laughing maliciously like always.

Sai also detected one less chakra signature in the room. Daichi's was weak, but he knew the monk was alive. He looked up towards Juugo who was now staring blankly in the direction of his comrade. Sai stood and picked up his sword that had fallen to the floor. He winced in pain and grabbed his side. He guessed the beast had broken at least one of his ribs. This would complicate things for sure.

Juugo turned to his opponent looking forlorn. This took Sai off guard. In his books people only looked like this when they were extremely saddened, but how could such a blood thirsty creature feel anything, let alone grief.

"He always appeared to be angry and mean, but I considered him a friend… Sasuke and Karin too."

Sai let his guard down for a moment, "You're a confusing creature. I do not know what to make of this situation, but I am here to secure this area which means defeating you."

Juugo looked up and smiled, "I can't suppress the curse seal much longer, but I must ask you something. If you need to defeat me then kill me. I cannot live this existence anymore, especially without my comrades."

"It doesn't have to be like that. If you come with us I'm sure the hokage could try and cure you," replied a shocked Sai.

Juugo shook and Sai noticed the seal beginning to spread across his body. "No. I will finally be free, please kill me…AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"

The transformation became complete and Sai leapt backwards in order to avoid one of Juugo's shots of energy.

"Kill, Kill, Kill!" screamed the beast as he ran and swung his massive arms at Sai.

The art nin dodged as fast as he could, but was not fast enough to avoid a hit from his opponent. He was sent backwards into a wall and fell slumped on the ground. From his position on the ground Sai could see the ceiling had become weak from both fights. He quickly took out his scroll and began to draw furiously.

Juugo ran full force at his opponent and was preparing to strike when Sai launched several snakes towards the ceiling. He commanded them to pull hard. The room shook and the ceiling caved on top of both ninja.

Sai had turned into ink at the last moment and weaved his way through the debris. After transforming back into a person, he stood weakly on top of the rubble that had buried his opponent.

He sighed, "I hope it was quick…"

The ground began to shake and Juugo emerged from the ruins battered and bruised, but relatively intact.

Sai looked on shocked tried to leap away, but Juugo was too fast. He caught the art nin by the leg and swung him through the air.

Before he could make contact with a wall Juugo appeared behind him and wrapped him in a crushing embrace.

Sai struggled but was trapped as the beast began to form cannons all around his body. "I'll kill you and every life form in this room," laughed the cursed Juugo.

"Not today psycho bastard," replied Sai calmly.

Juugo's cannons began to glow, preparing for the suicidal attack.

Before the explosion could be set off Sai disappeared into ink. His opponent looked around frantically. He found the real Sai above him making hand signs and drawing on his scroll. Ink mice descended upon the beast below and crawled into his cannons causing a few to backfire.

The ink that the clone had transformed into re-shaped into two large serpents that held Juugo in place. The explosions blew off both Juugo's arms and large chunks of his legs and body. The beats gave a shrill cry, before Sai appeared behind him with his sword across his opponent's neck.

"I'm sorry, I tried to make it quick," whispered the art nin before he cut Juugo's throat.

Blood spurted from the beast's body as he transformed back into his form. The body fell with a loud thud and lay limp, as a large pool of blood covered the floor. His eyes remained open with a pain filled stare.

Sai stepped next to his opponent and closed the eyes of the fallen beast, declaring the battle over. He grabbed his right side in pain as the adrenaline from battle wore off. Sai limped his way over to where he had detected Daichi's chakra earlier.

After a few minutes the pale ninja found his comrade sitting up weakly. Both men were hurt badly and had little to no chakra left.

Sai knelt down next to the monk, "Looks like we accomplished our end of the mission."

Daichi who was wrapping bandages around his shoulder looked up suddenly, "I'm afraid we are not through yet my boy."

Sai felt a sudden disturbance vibrate through the floor, and looked in the direction of a large hole he assumed Suigetsu had made during his rage.

A large group of the white Akatsuki member known as Zetsu began to slowly make their way through the opening. Sai reached in his pack and pulled out two of Sakura's soldier pills.

"Here old man I will warn you now they taste wretched, but they will help us hold off these things as long as needed."

Daichi took the pill thankfully, and swallowed it. After both men grimaced and held themselves together long enough to finish the pills they began to feel the effects of the pill.

"This is no ordinary being. Their chakra signatures indicate they are clones, but they have a source," said the monk as he stood up. "Our original plan was to secure this area, but in order to do that we must destroy the source of these creatures."

Sai chuckled quietly, "You mean in order to survive this mission."

"That too, well I guess we mist deviate from the ninja code," smirked Daichi as the white creatures came closer.

"They're more like guidelines anyway," replied the pale ninja with a smile. Sai pulled out his scroll and began to draw furiously.

Daichi followed suite with hand signs and launched his rock shuriken at the mass of white Zetsus. Sai sent his tigers towards them as well, clearing a path for both men to run down.

"I'll either see you on the other side of this or in hell my friend," smiled the old monk as both ninja took off running. Sai drew his sword and swung at any creature in his path, while Daichi summoned a small sword made of stone and did the same. A sea of white enveloped both ninja and began to attack, hungry for blood.


	16. Chapter 16

_Don't own Naruto…Sorry for the lack of authors notes I just like to get right to the story._

They just kept coming. Snakes of every different size, all white and Sakura was beginning to lose her mind. She wasn't afraid of snakes, but they most certainly weren't her favorite creature. The pink haired kunoichi had been separated from her sensei for quite some time now, but she could sense his chakra and knew he was alive.

The cherry blossom continued to duck, dodge and slice every white serpent that was sent her way. Problem was she was nowhere near her true opponent. If she didn't reach the source of the onslaught she would run out of chakra before even laying a single hit on him.

Kakashi was in a similar situation, with his sharingan activated he knew exactly where Kabumaru was, but he could not seem to make progress forward. He could try exerting more energy and eliminate all the snakes, but he was concerned he would not have enough chakra afterwards to defeat the demon. His student didn't seem to be getting anywhere as well, which made Kakashi wish for Shikamaru's brains to help get them out of this situation. On top of it all he knew they needed to end this soon in order to join Sai and Daichi.

Meanwhile Sakura had finally been backed into a corner. The snakes began to slither their way towards the trapped kunoichi, who was surrounded by the white creatures and blocked by a large wall behind her. Sakura channeled chakra to her fist and with a bellowing scream slammed her hand to the floor creating a rift in the earth that turned the floor into rubble. The snakes fell victim to the floor crushing them. Sakura had leapt into the air and landed ahead of the wreckage and aimed her kunai at Kabumaru.

The demon performed hand signs and summoned snakes to block these kunai. After they were hit they disappeared with a poof. Kabumaru also disappeared and Sakura stopped in her tracks and attempted to sense his chakra. Before she could read his signature a large black snake descended from the ceiling and appeared to have swallowed the cherry blossom whole.

Kakashi witnessed the scene from his side of the room, shock written all over his face. The copycat ninja went through hand signs as fast as he could and blew a giant fire ball towards the remaining snakes, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."

White snakes turned into charred remains as Kakashi sprinted towards the large black snake. Before he could reach the beast Kabumaru appeared in front of him and sent his personal white serpent towards the jonin. Kakashi dove towards the floor and attempted to sweep his leg around to trip up the demon. Kabumaru jumped and commanded his snake to attack with a smirk.

Kakashi looked up to see the snake diving towards him, and rolled to side in order to avoid it. The snake made contact with the ground and left a small crater. The creature continued to attack from Kabumarus back, as the demon simply walked towards his opponent. This gave Kakashi no time to create hand signs as he continued to evade the furious rampage.

The large black snake that had eaten Sakura began to slither its way over to the battle between Kakashi and his master. Before it could engage the jonin from behind the snake paused and looked towards its stomach in shock. With a shrieking cry the snake's body was sliced in half with surgical precision. Sakura leapt from the insides of the serpent covered in slime and blood.

The cherry blossom wiped the slime from her face and shook her arms to discard as much of the disgusting liquid as she could. She looked up to see her sensei engaged in a fierce battle with Kabumaru. Sakura began to look around the room for something to use, before she set her sights on a large piece of the floor she had dislodged moments ago. Sakura picked up the large chunk of earth and threw in at Kabumaru as hard as she could. The demon sensed the mass at the last moment and disappeared.

Kakashi stopped to catch his breath and Sakura joined her sensei and began healing some small cuts he had received.

"Don't worry about me save your chakra. That coward's here somewhere," said the jonin in between breaths

"We need a plan there are too many of those snakes and we haven't laid a single hit on that bastard. We're going to run out of chakra if we don't think of something fast," replied the cherry blossom.

The words hadn't even left Sakura's lips before a large white snake descended upon the two ninja separating them once again. Kabumaru and his white snake began to attack Sakura furiously. Kakashi had just regained his balance and began to run towards his student before stopping in his tracks shocked. Two new opponents had landed in front of him and he couldn't believe who he was about to engage in combat, his former teammates Rin and Obito.

Kabumaru's voice echoed throughout the room, "I never partake in battle without having a trump card and these two seem to be baffling you, copycat ninja Kakashi Hatake." The voice began to cackle in laughter as the two bodies of Kakashi's former team took stances to fight. They had no life in their eyes and the jonin knew they did not have any control over their actions what so ever, but it still made the Hatake uneasy.

_Rin…Obito…_ Memories of his team flooded his mind as Kakashi took a kick to the stomach from the body of Rin. Obito followed behind with a punch to the head that sent the sharingan user flying in the air.

"That's not really Rin or Obito they're just puppets… but it is their real bodies. Even Obito's eye is missing," whispered Kakashi to himself.

Rin and Obito came running fast and Kakshi rose up to begin dodging their attacks. He retrieved a kunai from his holster to help in evading the onslaught of punches and kicks.

_Obito and Rin were never the best fighters I should be able to knock them out easily…I should…_

With that thought both teammates managed to kick the jonin to the ground. There was a brief pause before the two corpses made their way towards their opponent. As they stood over his body Kakashi felt a disturbance in their chakra.

"Hey there Kakashi still as arrogant and stubborn as ever," spoke the body of Obito.

"What? How!" gasped the copycat ninja.

"Kabumaru must be a little busy with your student the control he had has weakened but I believe it will not last long," said Rin.

Kakashi laid on the ground astounded that his one dream had come true, one final moment to talk to his team mates. Both of them smiled.

"I failed you guys once. I won't fail again. I promise I'll seal you away so he can never use you like slaves again," replied the copycat ninja confidently.

"Act quickly Kakashi I don't think your student has a lot of time," said the deceased kunoichi her stare growing serious. All three continued to stare one last time before Kabumaru's control took over once more.

Kakashi did not hesitate this time and took to the offensive immediately. He launched two kunai with explosive tags that ignited as soon as Rin and Obito had dodged away. The copycat ninja summoned his earth wall to create separation between himself and his former team. This bought the jonin some time to pull out two scrolls from his vest. He bit into his thumb and performed hand seals with lightning speed. The wall began to crack as Rin and Obito attacked it vigorously from the other side.

The copycat ninja replaced the scrolls to his vest and dove away from the wall just before it burst apart. Obito and Rin attacked, but Kakashi was faster and knocked both away with a round house kick that caught both in a sweeping motion to their heads. Their bodies fell to the ground, but Kakashi noticed Rin place her hand on Obito's shoulder as they stood, both glowing green.

_She's healing them both; I need to attack with more than taijutsu if I'm going to weaken them enough to seal their souls away. _

Kou and Daichi had created soul sealing scrolls before Kakashi and his team had infiltrated the fortress. Once they had received a messenger hawk from head quarters about Orochimaru's Impure World Resurrection technique being used against the allies, the spirit guardian and her master had prepared the scrolls to seal away resurrected souls. Kou had explained the souls who were already dead would naturally desire to return to the spirit world, so sealing these souls away would be a lot easier than sealing a living one away. It was why Orochimaru's technique was called "impure." The dead were meant to be dead and the demon snake's technique went against the natural order of things. It had been explained that in order to seal the souls away their bodies had to be restrained or weakened.

Kakshi smirked, _I must not fail them._

He began to run as his teammates took their defensive stances. Kakashi charged a chidori in his hand as he picked up speed, but before he made contact he disappeared. Rin and Obito looked around only to hear the sound of chirping birds come from above.

Before Kakashi made contact Rin and Obito dove away leaving the copycat ninja to create a large crater. Upon contact Kakashi's body vanished with a poof, a clone.

Obito was the first to hear the sound of earth shake from beneath him. His body began to sink into the ground revealing only his head above a large hole. Rin had met a similar fate and both stared at two Kakashis who stood in between them with a smirk and a small salute, "Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique." The clone disappeared with a poof.

Obito and Rin appeared to have broken from Kabumaru's control once again and began to laugh. Kakashi joined in as he drew out the two sealing scrolls from before.

"I wish I could have spent more time with you guys…that didn't involve trying to kill me."

"Eh, what are you gonna do? That's life I guess," chuckled Obito as Kakashi walked towards the Uchiha first.

Kakashi placed the scroll in front of Obito's face and formed the ram hand seal, "Seal!"

Obito smiled at his friend, "We'll see you sometime soon jack ass." With that a blue glowing light came from Obito's mouth. It receded into the scroll as black symbols swirled and stopped on the paper. The scroll rolled shut by itself. Obito's body went limp, before gradually vanishing from view.

"Be at peace my friend," said Kakashi as he closed his eyes. He turned and went to Rin, and performed the same technique. A loud crash was heard from Sakura and Kabumaru's battle.

"You have to hurry Kakashi. She's in trouble," said the kunoichi full of concern.

"I know, but she can hold one second longer. She's tough that one," replied Kakashi as he laid the scroll in front of his friend. "Rin…"

"I know. You always said it with your eyes even if you were being a stubborn bastard. Now hurry up will ya?"

Kakashi chuckled and performed the same technique as before, shortly thereafter Rin was gone. Another crash was heard from afar and Kakashi didn't bother to take a moment to ponder the events that had just taken place. Instead he rushed over to his student praying to himself that she was not terribly hurt. He had been foolish in getting so wrapped up in his personal battle, but at the same instant he remembered all the times he had underestimated Sakura and remembered how far she had come. He whispered to himself, "She's ok. She has to be."

Sakura had rolled away from her sensei when the white snake attacked from above. She noticed two shadows land in front of Kakashi which made him stop in his tracks. The cherry blossom had no idea what was happening and did not have time to investigate.

The snake charged at her and Sakura was forced to evade. After performing a few back hand springs the kunoichi had managed to create separation. She launched kunai towards the snake, which were deflected with ease by Kabumaru, who appeared in front of the serpent with his scalpel. The instrument glowed blue from his chakra.

"Silly pupil of Tsunade, did she ever tell you how I tortured her with beautiful blood. Such beautiful deep red blood that she seemed so terrified of," hissed the demon.

"Shut up! You're always so happy being someone else's pawn aren't you Kabuto. Never could do anything by yourself," replied Sakura with ice in her voice.

The snake demon laughed, "I'm more than Kabuto now little cherry blossom. I am Orochimaru and Kabuto united in one body."

Sakura winced at his statement disgusted by the idea of Kabuto absorbing another person.

"You know Sasuke spoke of you. He told me how useless you always were. I can see what he meant I mean here you are separated from your master and helpless."

"Who said I was helpless asshole?" came the sound of the kunoichi's voice from above.

Kabumaru looked up to see his opponent dive upon him with a kick. She connected directly with his face, crushing it. Sakura back flipped off the snake demons head and landed on the ground. She punched him as hard as she could, her battle cry resonating throughout the room.

Kabumaru was launched through the air and hit a wall leaving a small crater. His body slid to the ground and he appeared to be unconscious.

The other Sakura who Kabumaru had spoken to previously disappeared into cherry blossom flowers. "Ninja Art: Cherry Blossom Clone," said the kunoichi with a smirk.

Sakura's victory was short lived as she saw snake demon's body twitch. He lifted his head slowly with a devilish smile displayed across his features, "Tsk Tsk young ninja haven't you forgotten to be aware of your surroundings."

Sakura's face turned to shock as Kabumaru's white snake clamped its jaws down onto her shoulders. Its victim screamed and managed to wrestle it off herself. Sakura grabbed it by the neck and crushed it easily, throwing the lifeless creature across the room in rage.

Sakura fell to her knees and gripped her shoulder in pain. She detected a poison, but an antidote would take time to create. The kunoichi watched helplessly as her opponent rose from the ground; green chakra surrounded his body as he healed himself. He had the advantage of drawing from two separate chakras.

Kabumaru began to walk towards the kunoichi his scalpel in hand, "such a shame. You're actually pretty. Maybe I could have a little fun before I kill you, but I think Madara would like for me to finish this quickly."

The demon threw the scalpel with dead accuracy, and Sakura was paralyzed from the poison. She closed her eyes and thought of Naruto, _He's right I really am useless._

Sakura waited for her end to come, but was surprised to hear metal connect with a clang! She opened her eyes to see her sensei holding a kunai, standing between her and the snake.

"Sorry Sakura I was a little tied up," smiled Kakashi with a wave towards his student.

"Better late than never as always Kakashi-sensei," said the cherry blossom relieved.

The copycat ninja turned back towards Kabumaru, "Make that antidote quickly and we'll take this bastard out together."

Kakashi and Kabumaru began to engage in hand to hand combat, the snake demon using his scalpel. Metal clashed against metal as the two men fought at lightning speed around the room. Kabumaru was surprisingly quick and nimble.

Sakura willed her arms and hands to move towards her medical pack and pulled out her necessary herbs and needles. She worked as fast as she could, but the poison made her slow. After the antidote was made Sakura stabbed herself with a needle and injected her concoction. She winced in pain, but felt the effects immediately. She rose and began to search for her sensei and the demon.

She ran towards their chakras not noticing a being creeping up behind her. As she neared the combatants she stopped and watched as the two met in the center of room. Kakashi had a chidori charged in his hand, while his opponent's hand glowed blue.

Tsunade had told Sakura about Kabuto's Chakra Scalpel Technique, but the cherry blossom was confident in her sensei's lightning blade. She watched on as the two connected.

Kabumaru was launched backwards; he gripped his right hand that had made contact with Kakashi's chidori. It was charred from being burned, but the snake demon held a smirk on his face.

Kakashi charged another chidori and prepared to run at his opponent but saw his student out of the corner of his eye. Behind her a shadowy figure crept quietly, unbeknownst to the cherry blossom. The copycat ninja knew he had no time to reach her. "Sakura!" he screamed

She turned to see Kabumaru throw a scalpel. Sakura has no time to react but watched as the knife disappeared, and its thrower fall to the ground only to vanish as well.

Kabumaru laughed, "Bonds make ninja weak Kakashi didn't you know that?"

Sakura whiped herself around to see her sensei had activated his Mangekyou Sharingan in order to save her. He slumped to the floor gripping his now bleeding eye. Sakura screamed, "No!" and took off to aid her sensei. Kabumaru launches a snake and forces her to leap away from Kakashi.

"Sakura you can do this. He can't even heal himself, he's running out of chakra," says the copycat ninja weakly. The medic ninja looks between Kabumaru and her sensei worry plastered on her face.

The snake demon laughs and pets his snake, which had returned to his shoulder. "So I'm a little tired. It means nothing! This weak little bitch is useless without someone there to save her."

"Sakura no please don't listen," replies the jonin desperately.

Said cherry blossom was now withdrawn into herself as she stares at Kabumaru in fear. She wraps her arms around herself and shakes, "I can't. I failed."

Kabumaru laughs maliciously, "I knew this pathetic excuse for a shinobi didn't have the audacity to face an opponent as cunning as myself."

Sakura stood frozen in terror as the snake demon hissed an order to his pet. The snake slithered its way toward its victim. _You couldn't save Sasuke, and now you're going to fail Kakashi-senei and…Naruto…_

An image of Naruto smiling his goofy grin and holding a thumbs-up flashed in her mind. Naruto had never given up. Hell Kou had been practically burned alive and was probably fighting alongside her best friend right now. The snake was drawing closer and had raised its head, bearing its fangs.

Sakura loosened her grip on her arms and began to relax as memories of her time with Naruto flooded her mind. The snake was only a few feet away and prepared to strike. The cherry blossom smirked and hid her eyes beneath her hair; a shadow casted over her eyes making her look almost evil. Her arms fell to her side and her hands form into fists. The snake launched itself towards her, Kakashi screams, Kabumaru shouts in triumph.

Sakura shouts, "Like hell I'll let my friends down!" She ducks and reaches to grab the snake by the throat. The creature lets out a choking noise only to have its tail grasped in Sakura's other hand. The kunoichi quickly ties wire around the tail discreetly so her opponent is unable to see.

Kabumaru screams with rage and begins to run towards his opponent in a blind rage. Sakura swings the snake's body in a circle by her side and launches it towards the demon.

The snake's fangs sink into Kabumaru's shoulder who screams in horror, blood seeping from the impact of the wound. He tries to dislodge the creature from his shoulder only to find it is impaled too deeply. He screams again.

Sakura pulls on the wire she has wrapped around her hand, and sends Kabumaru's body hurling towards her through the air. She winds and slams her chakra infused fist into the demon's stomach, launching him in the air above her.

The kunoichi quickly performs hand signs and cherry blossom pettles circle through the air around her and her opponent who has begun to fall back towards the earth. Sakura leaps and positions herself above the demon kicking him in the stomach. This is followed by an onslaught of genjutsu clones that kick, punch and elbow Kabumaru's helpless body, "Cherry Blossom Barrage!"

The snake demons body lands on the ground creating a small crater. He limply attempts to rise, coughing up blood. His body is covered in deep wounds and bruises. The blossoms that had been created earlier fall to the floor beside him, and build up again to form into the body of Sakura. _Needed to put my own style to that move after seeing Lee, Naruto and Sasuke do it, _she says to herself before shaking back to reality.

The medic ninja looks down with furry in her eyes at the man below her. She reaches down and yanks her opponent up by his collar. He smirks at her and laughs, "You won't kill me stupid girl. You don't have a heart like mine do you?"

Sakura's face contorts into disgust and she spits, "Fuck you," into the face of the man she had come to truly hate in the last hour. The kunoichi tosses his body up into the air, and at first it appears that she is going to walk away and leave him.

Sakura, with her back turned to the falling body draws a kunai, spins in one graceful motion and decapitates the snake demon. His head falls to the ground first and displays an expression of shock and pain. The body follows milliseconds later and oozes blood, some of which has splattered onto Sakura's face and clothing.

She closes her eyes and sighs, "I am nothing like you. Hopefully those souls you used can return to the spirit world peacefully now. You and your master are getting just what you deserve, an eternity in hell."

Sakura turned to see her sensei who was attempting to rise, she runs quickly to his side, "Kakashi-sensei…"

"We have to get to Sai and master Daichi. Heal me quickly and give me a soldier pill," says her sensei cutting her off.

Sakura does as she is told in silence. It doesn't take her long, and she consumes one of her own pills to replenish her chakra.

As the two rise and look off into the direction they must go to reach their comrades Kakashi places his hand on his students shoulder while using the other to whipe away the blood on her face, "I'll be honest I never thought you had it in you to kill so brutally."

"I just… I didn't want to leave any chance for him to come back to life or…"

"Sakura you did well. You did exactly what a shinobi should do. You are nothing like him. You protected your comrades," explained her sensei with a stern but comforting voice.

Sakura nods in response with a smile, "Thank you."

"Now let's go help the old man and our favorite awkward idiot," smiles the copy cat ninja.

Both take off running as fast as they can towards their friends location. _It's up to you Naruto…Kou… please keep each other safe, _thinks the cherry blossom to herself.

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and place this story on their favorites or alerts. You really keep me motivated to write. I know this chapter shows Sakura a bit differently but I always had this idea that she is very maternal about Naruto and her friends. I wanted her to show a little bit of vigor and brutality in order to represent this idea of maternal instinct within her. Hopefully no one finds it too over the top, personally I think it's about time Sakura showed a little spunk. She really hasn't since her fight with Sasori. I also got into some of her genjutsu abilities and this is just my idea about what it might look like. I hope for more reviews, alerts and favorites. _


	17. Chapter 17

_I'm dying to finish this story because the ideas are swirling in my brain and keeping me up at night. We're going to get to this awesome climatic fight that I have a feeling will change in my brain as I write this chapter despite the fact I've had it planned for a while. Anyway I don't own Naruto so let's get to this!_

Shikamaru paused on top of a large boulder and strained to look out towards the horizon. The sun was setting and its position blinded his vision of the battle field. Once his eyes adjusted he was shocked by what he saw. He, the remainder of the Konoha eleven, and the rest of the allied army had been fighting white Zetsu clones and formerly dead comrades for the past few hours.

The Nara genius had been separated from the rest of his team a while ago and had been unable to regroup his unit. As the battle had dragged on the allies seemed to be back into a corner that is until now.

He was not alone in his shock. Ten Ten and Neji also appeared from behind a nearby tree to gaze at the carnage before them. Bodies of the undead littered the earth, but were slowly disappearing. Thousands of floating blue lights rose from the corpses and ascended into the sky, which Shikamaru assumed to be their souls. Alongside them, white Zetsus were melting into the ground, groaning in agony.

Konoha's genius smirked and sighed in relief before gathering himself. There was work to be done after all, "Gather the wounded and the dead. Take them back to headquarters!"

The remaining ninja who had been in hiding began to reveal themselves. They nodded and began to search for their fellow soldiers. Shikamaru descended into the bloodied battle field to begin searching, _this cleanup will be troublesome… I'm guessing Naruto and his team are making some headway, but I can't help feeling this war isn't over yet. I can still feel Madara's presence even from all the way out here. _

He wasn't alone everyone, even Rock Lee who couldn't sense chakra at all, could feel a powerful evil still in their midst. But what could they do? All Shikamaru could think was to regroup and trust in Naruto. This truly was a troublesome situation.

Sakura and Kakashi ran as fast as they could to the room where Sai and Daichi should have been, but all they found was a dead Juugo, the debris of Suigetsu, and hundreds of white Zetsu clones slaughtered. They began to investigate the room when Kakashi came upon the giant tree housing the captured tailed beasts.

"I'm guessing we are in the right place, but I can't sense their chakra," called jonin over to his student, who was checking Juugo's pulse.

She stood after confirming her suspicions, "These two were a part of Sasuke's team. I think it's safe to say they're both gone." She looked up and followed the trail of white clones before coming upon an opening in the wall. It appeared the bodies ran through to the other side.

Kakashi walked over to the kunoichi and looked towards the hole, "I told them to stay put. Why did they leave this area?"

Sakura stood, "Maybe they had no choice." She bent down and examined one of the white corpses, "How could one person make this many clones? I don't even think Naruto can and he has the Kyuubi's chakra to draw from."

"We need to follow the trail… despite my instincts telling me we are not going to like what we see on the other side of this wall," said the copycat ninja solemnly.

Sakura nodded in response, but before they could prepare to leave both heard a strange noise coming towards them. They stood in shocked silence, before taking defensive stances. Sakura drew a few kunai, while Kakashi lifted his headband to reveal his sharingan. They waited prepared to fight to the death as two figures appeared in the wall's opening.

Daichi was draped over Sai's shoulder, with his right leg bandaged. The pale ninja was not fairing much better as he had entire arm bandage, with blood seeping through the rushed patchwork.

Sakura and Kakashi relaxed and replaced their weapons. The medic ninja immediately ran over to begin healing her comrades. Sai sat Daichi down before slumping to the floor in exhaustion himself.

"What happened you guys were supposed to wait here?" asked Sakura worriedly. She began to heal Daichi's leg first. Kakashi had strolled over at this point and began to re-bandage Sai's arm.

Daichi responded first after wincing to Sakura's initial touch, "After we defeated the two idiots an army of those white clones attacked. I detected a source that was responsible for creating the army and we decided to investigate."

"After uh… carving a path we managed to find the original Zetsu who apparently has two personalities in one body," continued Sai stoically.

"Where is the source now?" asked Kakashi.

"Oh he's um… scattered about you could say," replied Sai with a slight smirk. Daichi began to laugh.

"You blew him up!" shouted Sakura surprised.

"It was the old man's idea," pointed the art ninja.

"Which just so happened to be executed flawlessly by you," smiled the monk.

All four began to laugh lightly. They were all exhausted and for some reason such brutality seemed humorous in their time of heightened stress.

"What about that weird chakra you two fought?" asked Daichi after gaining control over himself.

Sakura had finished healing the monk and made her way over towards Sai. "It was Kabuto. His chakra was so strange to you because he apparently absorbed Orochimaru's body and chakra network somehow," responded the cherry blossom coolly.

Kakashi smirked through his mask, "You could say he lost his head."

Sai and Daichi looked at Kakashi dumbfounded as Sakura rolled her eyes and explained their battle with Kabumaru, "I cut off the ugly bastards head."

Kakashi sweat dropped when he realized he had not been funny, while the other two turned to Sakura in shock. There was an uneasy silence between them.

Sai broke the tense moment, "Now what?"

Kakashi shook himself free from his thoughts, "We wait. We'll just be in the way if we try and help Naruto and Kou. There is no way any of us are capable of sealing these beasts for transport either."

Sakura and Sai began to protest before Daichi held his hand up to cut them off, "He is right. We need to keep this place secure until the allies reach us or Kou and Naruto finish off Madara and Sasuke."

They are all quiet after this and begin to rest and wait. The four of them tense with worry.

Naruto and Kou followed quickly behind Sasuke as the three ninja sprinted towards Madara's hideout. Naruto still had sage mode activate, while Sasuke revealed his sharingan. Kou seemed to have a distrustful and disgusted look on her face as she concentrated her chakra on the Uchiha, making sure he didn't try anything.

"Kou I'm not stupid there is no way I could take on the both of you," said Sasuke calmly. He could feel her distrust and her honed energy on his chakra. Naruto chuckled as Kou gave a "humph."

She could not find it in herself to relax around her traitorous, former lover. "I don't get hoew you trust this asshole…" she began before Sasuke held up his hand ordering them to stop. They had reached their destination.

"We can't be torn apart now. We have to work together," replied Naruto seriously.

Sasuke nodded, "We all want the same thing, a dead Madara."

Kou stared in the direction of the two men and seemed to be torn. She finally spoke in a grumble, "This better be worth it."

Naruto smiled, "Believe it blind bat! We'll get out of this alive." Sasuke chuckled and whispered "dobe" under his breath. All three grew silent and seemed to be waiting for the other to make a move towards the door.

The blonde was the first to move, but stopped as Kou spoke up.

"Seriously we're going in with no plan? We'll be annihilated!"

"Baldy when have any of our plans ever worked? They tend to just erupt into chaos," replied Naruto.

Sasuke sighed, crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Enough! You're both idiots."Naruto and Kou glared in the Uchiha's direction.

"Fuck it! It's now or never," screamed the blind kunoichi. She slammed her fist into the door as a majority of the wall crumpled to the ground. Sasuke and Naruto stared shocked before leaping into the room. They were met with a shower of kunai. Kou summoned the earth around her into a dome to protect them.

"So the children wish to play," came Madara's voice menacingly.

All three ninja emerged as Kou lowered the earth. They took stances and prepared for the fight of their lives. Madara was wearing his Akatsuki robe, but had changed his orange mask to a red one with one eye hole open. The mask had a design that was similar to the sharingan. He had a long pole strapped to his back along with a circular shield.

The older Uchiha began to laugh, "Well I didn't expect such betrayal from you Sasuke. I thought the idiot jinchuriki and your bitch were dead to you."

Sasuke smirked on the outside, but he could feel his anger grow with-in, "Change of plans Madara I decided I hate you more than I despise my comrades. I decided to pick the lesser of two annoyances."

Madara's body language changed and the three ninja could tell this comment did not sit well. His voice changed to anger, "So you decided to betray your family. You're just like your feeble brother. He didn't have the strength or the guts to do what was right for the Uchiha clan either."

Sasuke shook with rage and Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder, "Remember we're in this together. Don't be stupid teme."

The blonde glanced over at his other comrade, "Kou make sure you save enough chakra to perform the seal." The blind kunoichi nodded in response.

All three scattered across the room which was better lit than any of the other places they had encountered in this cave. Madara obviously had planned for this to be the final battle ground.

Kou was first as she summoned two rectangular walls and commanded them with her body to slide over the ground towards each other. Madara was caught in the middle, but leapt nimbly out of the way. The two walls slammed together, but Kou utilized the rubble and threw huge boulders at the older Uchiha.

Madara dodged the projectiles in midair, but was caught off guard when Naruto appeared behind him with a rasengan. Just as the sage was about to connect, his hand went through his opponent's body. The rest of the blonde's body followed as he descended towards the ground. He flipped and landed with grace, but had little time to regain his balance as Madara blew a giant fire ball towards him.

Naruto dove out of the way, but saw as Sasuke met the older Uchiha on the ground. The two began to fight up close, Sasuke with his sword, Madara with his pole. The clash of the weapons resonated throughout the room.

_If he wants to attack he has to be solid, _thought the jinchuriki to himself.

Kou realized the same thing and began to spread her legs shoulder width apart. Her arms were raised in front of her, palms facing towards her body. She channeled her energy into the earth and closed her eyes. She listened for the clang of metal on metal and pinpointed both Uchihas location. She jumped, spun and thrust her arms forward with a yell. The earth shook slightly as it cracked and fell away in a straight line headed right for Madara.

Sasuke leapt away from the crack, but Madara realized too late as he began to fall through the hole. He ran through hand signs and the air around him spun in a spiral. His body disappeared.

Sasuke looked down into the crevice and realized his ancestor was nowhere to be seen. Naruto had run over to the hole and realized this as well. Both closed their eyes and searched for the older Uchiha's chakra. Kou had felt the energy of the jutsu and knew she had not succeeded in burying her opponent. She opened her senses, but found Madara too late.

He had already appeared behind her out of thin air and held a knife to her throat. Madara forced the blind kunoichi's arms behind her back with his free hand, "You're a helpless and useless piece of shit you know that?" He laughed as Kou's body tensed at the insult.

Naruto and Sasuke ran over to the scene and paused. Both looked at one another and wondering what to do.

"I suggest you pick more powerful allies next time Sasuke. These two seem to be more of a hindrance."

"Think again asshole!" yelled Kou from above as she flew down towards Madara hands clasped together. The Kou in Madara's grasp poofed and revealed a Naruto shadow clone that stuck its tongue out at the Uchiha before poofing away.

Kou attempted to slam her fists directly into the head of her opponent before he fazed out of solidity. She hit the ground instead creating a huge crater, but had landed in a crouch next to the Uchiha she swept her leg trying to trip him up, but he jumped away.

He was met with multiple Narutos who had rasengans in hand. He managed to fade once again just in time as all the clones made contact with one another.

Madara landed on the ground and found that it had turned to mud. It solidified and trapped him before he could fade away. Kou stood a few feet away with a smirk on her face.

Sasuke ran with a chidori activated and seemed to make contact with the older Uchiha. Instead the body turned into a piece of rubble.

"Substitution jutsu," whispered Sasuke in shock. He suddenly heard the sound of fabric flapping in the wind and dove out of the way just in time as Madara attempted to kick him from above. The younger Uchiha rolled and landed next to Kou, who summoned a boulder and flung it towards her opponent. The rock passed through the ancient Uchiha easily.

"Face it even the three of you can't beat me you are nothing. Nothing but failures and my plans for this world will be fulfilled."

"I'm tired of listening to you talk!" screamed Naruto as he threw a rasengan wind shuriken. Madara jumped over the jutsu. Just as he was about to land onto the ground he began to go through hand signs as all three of his opponents ran towards him, Naruto with his rasengan, Sasuke with his chidori, and Kou with her spirit palm.

Madara's sharingan shifted and turned into his Mangekyou Sharingan. His body became envolped by Susanoo and he used the creature's arms to swipe away his opponents.

All three slammed into a wall and slid to the floor. Naruto had a deep wound on his stomach, Sasuke's arm began to bleed, and Kou's side appeared to be burned.

All three rose weakly after taking such an impact. Madara began hand signs again, "Fire Release: Great Fire Majestic Annihilation." He blew, causing the largest fire ball any of them had seen and it was heading right for them. Sasuke jumped quickly in front of his comrades and extended his arms out to the side. His sharingan turned to his own Mangekyou and blue chakra began to envelope him. His less evil Susanoo formed into its full body and took the impact of the attack. As the fire disintegrated and the smoke blew over, Sasuke was down on one knee breathing heavily.

Madara ran at the fallen Uchiha with a rotating fire ball in hand, "Fire Style: Fire Rasengan!"

Sasuke was defenseless and prepared for the impact, but Naruto appeared in front of him glowing yellow. He had a tail similar to a fox growing from behind him and upon first glance looked like he was on fire. The jinchuriki intercepted the attack with a rasengan of his own and blew the older Uchiha back.

"Kou help poor little Sasuke up will ya? Hey teme I know you can do better than this," said Naruto teasingly. He ran towards their opponent at a speed Sasuke had never seen.

The Uchiha tried to get up again, but felt his legs give out from under him. Before he hit the ground he felt a hand grasp his arm and steady him. Kou helped lift him to his feet. They could hear Naruto and Madara battle on the other side of the room.

"After all that training you can't be that worn out spoiled," smirked Kou as she released his arm. Sasuke stood firmly and could feel what little chakra he had left stabilize.

"Stop calling me that," he whispered as Kou wrapped a bandage around his injured arm. They were both silent as she finished. She reached into her robe and pulled out one of Sakura's soldier pills.

"From what I hear they're god awful, but will refuel your chakra," smile the kunoichi as she handed him the pill. Their hands touch briefly and the Uchiha grabbed her wrist with his other hand. Kou's face turned to shock and Sasuke stared at her directly in the eyes.

The blind kunoichi felt the intensity in his face and wondered what he really looked like right now. She would have given anything to truly be able to see his face, but the feeling of his grip on her wrist and his gaze told her what he was thinking.

There was a loud bang from across the room and both ninja shook themselves from their thoughts. They could see Naruto's body fly through the air and hit the ground just a few feet in front of them.

"Hey idiots this is not time to eye fuck one another! I could use some help defeating the most powerful ninja in the world," he yelled as he jumped up and began to run back towards Madara.

Sasuke grabbed the pill from Kou, but did not release her wrist. He swallowed, and gaged a little before he felt the effects of the medicine.

The kunoichi twisted her wrist in his grasp, "Sasuke please...Naruto..."

"When I talked to Itachi he said you would make me strong. You and Naruto," spoke the Uchiha quickly. There was another crash and Kou looked in the direction of the battle, she had a frantic stare.

"Please just listen, Kou I just... I want you to know he was right. I want you to know that it all wasn't just an act. Some of it was real," he finished and Kou slowly turned her head towards his direction. He stared and he knew she was trying her hardest to picture what he looked like at that moment. He could see the strain and frustration in her eyes.

"I don't know what's real anymore," she whispered and lowered her head. "All of this is a nightmare and those few months with your were just a dream in my head."

Sasuke wanted to argue, but he knew this was not the time or the place. Instead he held her face in between his two hands. He was surprised she didn't try and move away, but she still had her head tilted down and her eyes cast to the floor. He used one hand to lift her chin up with his finger, "Just because it was in your head doesn't mean it wasn't real."

He kissed her on the lips gently. The kiss lasted only a second and once he was through Sasuke let go of her face. He could see the conflict written all over her features until a loud explosion shook the room.

Sasuke activated his sharingan, "You need to stay here and begin to release that seal. I promise once you're done Madara will be weak enough."

Before she could protest the Uchiha used his finger to shush her lips, "I told you I promise, but I need you to promise you will do as I ask and be safe."

She could only nod as her best friend began to walk backwards away from her, "Kou... I love you."

He leapt away and left the blind kunoichi to herself. She heard Naruto scream, "About time teme!"

Kou shook herself back to reality and summoned an earth dome to surround and protect her. She sat in meditation as she prepared for the seal to unlock. She was going to need a lot of chakra and knew if anything went wrong she would die. She thought of Naruto fighting with all his might, and Sasuke's kiss... "I don't know if I can love you, but I know I can fight for you... both of you."


	18. Chapter 18

_Glad I'm having time to write this I think we're reaching the end here which is exciting and sad at the same time. Don't Own Naruto._

Naruto charged a Rasengan into his hand and felt the increase in power from the addition of the Kyubi's chakra. Madara stood opposite him charging his own fire based Rasengan. Naruto remembered the attack from earlier in their battle.

"Where did you learn my father's jutsu?" he screamed across the room.

"Idiot! Jutsu do not belong to a single being, I copied it the night of your birth and your father's death. I simply added my own little touch," sneered the Uchiha.

Naruto was infuriated at this point and his chakra further fueled his jutsu. With a battle cry, the blonde charged his opponent with the full intention of killing him.

Madara followed suite and both man made contact. There was a blinding flash and both were thrown backwards from the impact. Madara slammed into a wall leaving a crater, while Naruto had a much softer landing into the readied arms of his best friend.

Sasuke looked down at the jinchuriki and smirked, "I see you've been busy getting your ass kicked."

Naruto sprung up from the ground and waved his arms frustrated, "Oh yea well maybe if you weren't busy fucking around with the blind bat… speaking of which…" Naruto lowered his arms and looked around, "Where is the crazy bitch?"

Sasuke's smirk turned serious, "Charging up that sealing jutsu. We need to end this…now." Both men stared at one another, the mood suddenly becoming tense.

Madara's laugh bellowed from across the room, "So that useless excuse for a ninja thinks she is powerful enough to seal away my soul. I think you three have underestimated the power of pure hatred."

Sasuke activated his sharingan and charged a chidori, while Naruto summoned multiple shadow clones with their own Rasengan.

"Hit him with everything we got!" screamed the younger Uchiha. His comrade gave a nod and their onslaught began.

Kou sat in deep meditation, but could not drown out the noise of the battle taking place around her.

"How am I supposed to concentrate with all this noise… you're just making excuses Kou… why am I talking to myself again," whispered the kunoichi.

She placed her hands on the ground and could feel the battle rage on. "Those idiots are getting their asses kicked."

Kou sighed and tried to concentrate again. The problem with having heightened senses was that it was incredibly difficult to drown out all the vibrations and noises. The Spirit Guardian found herself incredibly distracted not only by her over worked senses, but by her wandering thoughts as well. This was a first for a girl who had been taught all her life how to separate herself from the world around her.

"Why is this crap becoming such a problem I've never had trouble meditating before…shit…?"

Kou had felt Sasuke's body hit the ground hard, and heard the drips of blood hit the earth. He was bleeding heavily. Naruto had hit a nearby wall and was also heavily wounded.

"They're going to die if I fuck this up… but I could die too. One misstep and it's over. Madara will win and I'll be dead."

Death had never scared the kunoichi before. She had stared it dead in the face on quite a few occasions, but this time was different. So much was at stake, so many lives.

"Why me?"

Kou's head drooped and the same feeling of helplessness she had felt while being tied up and burned came back.

"How the hell am I supposed to do this? I only performed this jutsu once and that was one some mindless demon," screamed Kou as she raised her hands to her head. She rocked back and forth, breathing heavily.

"Why now? Why am I falling apart here and now!"

Memories of various sensations flooded Kou's memory. She didn't have a lot to picture, because of the limited time she had had her sight. She remembered the cold touch of her mother's skin after she had died, the burn of her seal, the excruciating pain of being burned alive, various wounds she had sustained on her missions, the smell of her own charred skin. Pain both physically and emotionally flooded her senses. The kunoichi screamed and cause the earth to rumble.

Outside of her protective dome Madara smirked, "It seems my genjutsu has taken affect."

Sasuke and Naruto stood weakly from opposite sides of the room. Both were seriously wounded and running low on chakra. They heard Kou scream and felt the earthquake.

"What the hell is she doing?" screamed the jinchuriki

_Kou what is happening to you, _thought Sasuke to himself? He tried to run towards the Spirit Guardian's dome, but was cut off by a wall of black flames, "Amaterasu," whispered the younger Uchiha in surprise.

"You cannot save her Sasuke I have invaded her mind!" laughed Madara.

"How? She's blind, she can't fall under genjutsu. She can't look into those eyes," cried Naruto in frustration.

Madara threw his head back and laughed harder, "You're both idiots if you think I wasn't prepared for that. This is a genjutsu of the senses. I brought you to this room because I have networked my chakra through the ground. Any time she sent her own chakra through the earth; mine would mix with hers and enter her body. Ninja Art: Poison of the Senses!"

The older Uchiha slammed his palms into the ground and pumped more of his chakra through the earth. Kou's screams became louder and more earthquakes ensued. The ground around them began to crack and rise randomly.

Sasuke and Naruto tried to balance themselves, but they had no time to regain their defenses as Madara took advantage of their predicament and commanded the arms of his Susanoo to attack.

Neither ninja had enough energy to react and were slammed into nearby walls. The hands of the jutsu grabbed their bodies and brought them closer to Madara.

The ancient Uchiha laugh maliciously as his victims struggled in his grip, "Because of her heightened sense of touch, smell and taste I knew a genjutsu that touched on these senses would be that much more powerful. She is remembering every horrible memory she has ever had through her senses rather than images of the mind. It makes it that much more real."

Naruto screamed in frustration while Sasuke thrashed around even harder in Susanoo's grip. Madara only squeezed them harder.

_Shit,_ thought Sasuke as he ceased his struggling. He was realizing there was no use they were trapped. He could hear Kou's screams continue and the sound of Naruto continuing to try and escape their captor. The Uchiha closed his eyes and tried to think of a plan.

His eyes opened suddenly. Kou's dome had shattered and the kunoichi was kneeling on the ground with her hand covering her ears. Her seal had broken and her tattoos showed on her arms. Her eyes were glowing and her body rocked back and forth as she cried in terror.

The roof of the room began to collapse as the earthquakes became stronger. Kou let go of her ears and crouched on all fours. She stopped screaming, but was breathing heavily. She reached out her right arm and extended her hand in Madara's direction.

She finally spoke in between breaths, "My mother smelled like lilacs… even when she died." The blind kunoichi smirked, "You would have never known that would you?"

She began to chuckle, "I admit that jutsu was good, but you forgot one thing I remember the good sensations as well." Kou raised her head up, her eyes glowing brighter.

A giant chunk of rubble broke away and shaped itself into a spike. "Die you fucking monster!" shouted kunoichi as she dropped her arm. The rock was headed for Madara, and the older Uchiha was forced to release his captives and dove away just in time.

Sasuke and Naruto didn't waste any time. After landing on his feet Naruto dug deep within himself and called upon more of the kyuubi's chakra. Two golden tails sprun from his backside and launched toward Madara grabbing the masked man. With no time to phase out of existence the ancient Uchiha was trapped. He began to struggle as Naruto held on for dear life.

Meanwhile Sasuke unsheathed his sword and charged it with a chidori. He ran as fast as he could and stabbed his ancestor in the stomach. Madara screamed in pain and frustration as his Susanoo faded away.

The combination of attacks prevented the older Uchiha from fading away, but the seasoned ninja had one final trick up his sleeve.

The air around Madara's mask began to swirl into what appeared to be a giant black hole. He was attempting to pull himself away from this reality and he would do anything in his power to take Sasuke and Naruto with him.

Dirt and stones were being sucked into the black hole that appeared around the Uchiha's mask. As the pull became stronger Naruto began to slide towards his captive, while Sasuke's feet started to lift off the ground.

Kou felt this disturbance, "Shit! Hang on you guys!"

She commanded the earth to rise and wrap around her comrades feet and ankles holding them in place.

After being secured Sasuke screamed and summoned more chakra to make his chidori more powerful. The electric current could be seen flowing through Madara's body.

Naruto summoned three clones who held wind driven rasengans in their palms. They ran and connected with the black hole. There was a bright flash, and when the chaos receded the older Uchiha was slumped against Sasuke's sword. Naruto's tails remained as restraints.

Kou walked slowly towards their opponent and began the hand signs for the sealing jutsu. She started to recite an incantation that neither Naruto nor Sasuke understood.

Her voice began to change and seemed to take on an angelic echo as she neared the end of the ritual, while her tattoos and eyes shined brighter than before. Kou was a few feet from Madara and stopped, "Sasuke you will need to move," she politely commanded as she released the earth bindings around his feet.

Sasuke slowly pulled his sword out from the body, and backed away from his ancestor as he watched on. Kou began walking towards the unconscious body once more and nodded towards her blonde comrade. Naruto maintained his grip out of caution, but released it after the Spirit Guardian gave a small smile.

As the tails retreated the blind kunoichi summoned two large spikes of earth to hold the body up. The ancient Uchiha's arms were outstretched to his sides as the earth wrapped around his wrists. He was on his knees and did not stir while his demise approached.

Naruto let down the kyuubi's chakra and leapt next to his best friend. Both kept their distance as they stared on, trusting in their friend to complete her task.

Kou turned her body so Madara's body was to her side. She outstretched her arm away from her body and summoned the gate that would take her enemy's soul to the realm of the punished. The gate swirled and gained size. It was bright, and the doors began to open.

The Spirit Guardian turned back to face the Uchiha. He began to stir as the energy of the gate gained momentum. Madara screamed in terror as he saw the pathway to his destruction. He struggled against his restraints, but it was no use. He was bleeding heavily from the wound in his stomach, and had had his chakra drained by Naruto's tailed restraints.

Kou slowly removed Madara's mask to reveal an old, wrinkled face. He had only one eye containing the sharingan. He had a grey complexion and the sight of him took Sasuke and Naruto back by surprise.

"Who would have thought an old hag like that could have kicked our asses?" chuckled the blond nervously.

"Shut up dobe," glared the younger Uchiha.

Kou continued the ritual as she placed her two fingers to the old man's forehead. She felt his wrinkles and could only wonder what had been beneath that mask. She would never know, and preferred it that way.

Madara continued to struggle and his screams grew louder as Kou's fingers made contact with his skin. He began to laugh psychotically, "You think the spirit world can hold me? You're a fool, just like your bitch of a mother and that old hag of teacher!" Kou paused and her victim grew silent at her hesitancy.

"You can't do it! I knew you couldn't condemn another human to such a tortured existence. You know exactly what will happen to me in that place and you don't have the courage to send me there."

"Don't listen to him blind bat," screamed Naruto in frustration. He tried to make a run for his friend, but Sasuke grabbed his arm. "She needs help teme!"

"I told you to shut up. Let her go she knows exactly what she's doing," replied the Uchiha calmly. He didn't take his eyes of Kou. Naruto relaxed and Sasuke let go.

Madara continued to taunt the Spirit Guardian, "All those things I made you feel, smell. All those memories I made you relive." He laughed, "You screamed like a little bitch. You cried like you did the day your mother died. You cried like the day that old bastard told you, that you be blind and helpless for the rest of your life. You're weak, you're helpless, and you always need to be saved…"

Kou removed her fingers in a flash and punched the Uchiha across face. It was a deafening thud and resulted in Madara slumping into an unconscious state once more. She stood straight and replaced her fingers on the body's head.

"Only I can call him an old bastard and where the hell do you get off calling him old anyway you look like a fucking dried up raisin," spat the blind kunoichi in a voice barely above a whisper.

Kou screamed and charged her spirit energy into her fingers. The energy entered into Madara's body and began to tap into his soul. The spirit guardian closed her eyes and concentrated. Her energy began to battle with ancient Uchiha's and if she lost, her own soul would be sent to the realm of the punished.

Naruto and Sasuke looked on nervously. They couldn't see the chakra battle that was taking place, but they could feel a tension in the air.

The Spirit Guardian opened her eyes and gasped. Black energy began to consume her fingers and was moving up her wrist and arm. Her energy was losing and Madara's soul was trying to take over her body.

Naruto could see his friend was in trouble, "Kou you idiot you have to win! You have to…"

"Kou draw from you love. The love you have for your friends, your teacher, your people… draw from the love you have…had… for me," shouted Sasuke. He had been unsure about how to word that last part. He had no idea if the woman he loved felt the same, but he knew there had to have been something between them before. Maybe if she looked hard enough with in herself she could find a more powerful feeling than Madara's hate and desperation.

The black chakra reached her shoulder and stopped suddenly. Kou closed her eyes once more and looked within herself. She began to recall every memory and feeling of love she had, just like when she took control back from Madara's genjutsu.

It was then she smelled his scent. She had never been able to explain it, but for some reason Sasuke's scent had never changed. Even from when they were kids playing. She remembered that smell from every moment she had been around him back then and from their more recent ventures together. The scent itself had no description or source that the kunoichi could pin point, but for some reason in that moment it was the most powerful memory she had and it work. Her chakra battled and pushed the dark energy back into Madara.

Kou pressed her palm to her opponent's forehead and gave out a loud battle cry. Her energy pulsed through his body and reached the core of the chakra network. It was there the soul resided and Kou began to pull as hard as she could. She began to draw her hand away from Madara's body but his soul tried hard to fight back.

Sasuke ran before he had time to think, Naruto followed closely behind. They reach Kou in a flash. The Uchiha knew he would probably be assaulted severely later, but proceeded to grab the kunoichi around her waist. The jinchuriki stood to the side and grasped her shoulders. All three pulled, and still the evil soul fought back.

"When is this dumbass gonna learn he's lost!" yelled the blond.

"I don't know about you but having my soul sealed and tortured for eternity doesn't sound like a vacation," replied Sasuke through gritted teeth.

Kou smiled slightly as the two of them argued. The feeling that things could actually go back to normal between everyone fueled her power even more.

All three ninja screamed and gave one final pull. Madara's soul was released from his body and appeared as a ball of black light in Kou's palm.

"Destroy his body. I'll take care of the rest," ordered the Spirit Guardian. She turned toward the gate that had been opened from before and ran for it. She couldn't just throw a soul as evil and powerful as this into the realm and expect it to float away willingly.

Kou disappeared behind the gate. When the door closed the entire portal receded and the only thing that remained was the kunoichi's earthly body. Sasuke and Naruto stood dumbfounded.

"Where'd the blind bat go?" asked the blond scratching his head.

"Shut up baka lets get rid of this body before we run completely out of chakra," replied the Uchiha seriously.

Both turned and activated their personal favorite jutsus. Sasuke and Naruto charged and connected with the lifeless body of their enemy. As the chidori and rasengan struck the corpse, it deteriorated into nothingness. Both stood back to analyze the small crater they had created, breathing heavily.

Sasuke fell to his knees while Naruto fell backwards onto his butt. "Wow… It's over," said the blond exhausted. "I'm not tired at all from saving the world how bout you teme?"

"Shut up dobe," countered the Uchiha as he sat back onto his behind as well. "Besides it's not over until Kou succeeds at sealing that psycho bastard away."

"By the way… what the hell is going on between you two! I mean you were practically sucking her face back there, leaving me to get my ass kicked by that monster!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed. He leaned back onto one of his arms, "You really are a knuckle headed ninja."

Meanwhile Kou found herself in her least favorite realm to visit in the spirit world. The land of the punished started as a dark and gloomy swamp that eventually lead the way to various levels of torture areas, depending on how evil the residing souls were. Madara's soul was special because he would be receiving his very own realm.

Kou looked down at the black orb in her palm, "lucky you huh?" She began to walk down a path that had been described to her by the guardians. "Follow the black earth until you reach the pit of flames," recited the kunoichi.

The walk didn't take long and Kou eventually came upon a cliff. Below was a valley of black flames, "Amaterasu."

The Spirit Guardian lifter her palm and stared at the soul of her enemy, "I almost feel sorry for you… almost…" She smiled and turned her palm to drop the evil orb into its new home.

"An eternity burning in your own jutsu… sounds about right for you Madara." Kou turned away from the pit and began her journey back to the gate that would lead her home, _black flames that can never be extinguished until its victim is destroyed. Problem for Madara is souls can never be destroyed and they feel just as an earthly person would._

Kou reached the clearing where she would summon the gate back to the real world. Just as she was about to begin the jutsu something whisked by the corner of her eye. She turned to see her mother sitting on a log.

"Mom?"

"I just wanted to tell you I'm proud of you and that I hope you give him a chance," smiled Miya.

"Who" asked the confused kunoichi?

"I think you know who I'm talking about. Good bye my dear, I love you."

Her mother gave a wink and disappeared. Kou stared at the spot where her mother had sat for a few seconds before hearing a cry off in the distance. Some soul was obviously receiving its punishment and the Spirit Guardian wanted nothing to do with this place. "Those ancient old hags didn't even come to tell me 'hey Kou good job' or 'here how bout we give you your hair back for sealing away the most powerful ninja in the world'… assholes."

"Watch your mouth brat! Stop whining human hair grows back," shouted Mei. The Phoenix appeared in front of the kunoichi startling her. "By the way everyone and yes even me say good job lady Kou."

"How'd that taste in your mouth Lady Mei?" chuckled Kou in response to the half compliment.

"Like acid. Don't get used to it. We'll obviously give you some time off before your next mission."

"I never do, and thank you it's much appreciated. Saving the world is tiring."

"Shut up little bitch. You Spirit Guardians are all the same, whiney and ungrateful," snapped the ancient guardian.

"See ya around Mei. I can't stand this place and I'd like to leave your lovely establishment as soon as possible."

"Get out of here then. Nobody wants you here anyway." The phoenix burst into flames and disappeared.

Kou smiled and began to form hand signs, "time to go home."

When she awoke Kou found herself in her familiar darkness and she smelled a most familiar scent. She realized she was being carried by her least favorite person at the moment, but she was so tired she couldn't complain.

"Where are we going spoiled," she whispered into his chest.

He looked down at the girl in his arms, "While you were busy throwing a temper tantrum in that dome of your Naruto and I were doing all the work and may have received some injuries." He spoke with his usual lack of emotion.

"Yeah how is it you get to be carried blind bat?" shouted Naruto as he walked in the lead.

"Excuse me I just sealed the most powerful being in the ninja world and you're saying you did all the work? I don't think so boys. Besides if it wasn't for me you would have been sucked away into some ridiculous alternate reality," snapped the kunoichi.

Sasuke glared down at his comrade, "shut up, you're annoying."

"Likewise spoiled brat," she mocked.

Naruto laughed and Kou joined in the amusement, while Sasuke gave a little smile. The three heroes continued down a dark hallway at a slow pace, absorbing the events that had just taken place.

The one thought they all had as they felt familiar chakras down the hall was, _what will happen to us now?_

_Woot Woot! End of chapter 18 Hope you like it!_


	19. Chapter 19

_I apologize for such a wait school has been kicking my ass… thank you college. I will try and get these last two chapters up as soon as possible, and I thank you for your patience. BTW Don't own Naruto and if I did I would not have so many freaking fillers in the anime series._

Sakura was beginning to get anxious as she paced around in circles waiting. Waiting for her comrades or if they failed waiting for the end of the world… _not exactly a win-win situation,_ she thought to herself.

If her comrades survived and succeeded in destroying Madara then she could only imagine what kind of condition they were in. The medic with-in her began to go through numerous scenarios as to what types of injuries they had and what kinds of supplies she could use. They didn't have a lot but she knew she could at least patch them up enough to get them to base camp. Going through everything calmed her at first then put her more on edge when she thought about her lack of chakra…_ we're fucked._

"Sakura stop pacing you're wasting energy," said Kakashi who sat on a rock cleaning his kunai. He smiled at her with his visible eye. "They will be fine."

Sakura took a deep breath and sat next to her teacher. She drew a few syringes from her pack and checked to make sure they were clean and unbroken.

Sai was painting and Daichi was meditating. They were all doing their best not to panic and to pass time. Just as the cherry blossom was about to crack from the silence she heard the faintest of footsteps.

"It's them," she whispered.

Just as the group stood Daichi drew a rock kunai, "Wait there are more than two people… they have company."

Sai began to draw a lion, Sakura summoned chakra to her fist, and Kakashi placed his hand on his headband readying his sharingan.

Naruto was the first to step through the gaping hole. Kou was being carried on his back and both smiled at the sight of their friends, and then quickly frowned at the sight of their defensive stances.

Naruto taken aback dropped his blind friend as he raised his hands and sweat dropped, "Guys, guys, guys it's just us!"

Kou who cursed her idiot blond friend under her breath rubbed her butt then stood, "Take the sticks out of your asses and chill out it's us…if you want to kill something I suggest you do it when the spoiled brat walks in."

As if on cue Sasuke walked in and paused at the sight of his armed former comrades. "Shit," he whispered under his breath."

"Teme got sick of carrying the blind fat ass so I took over, and we still beat him here," laughed the blond as he tried to lighten the mood. It didn't work because no one relaxed.

There was a moment of silence as Kou slowly limped over to her friends, while Naruto turned his head back and forth in confusion.

The jinchuriki raised his hands and stepped in between his friends and the Uchiha, "C'mon blind bat he helped us. Without him you'd be dead and so would I."

Kou sat down away from the situation and sighed in annoyance, "Yeah, yeah I guess. Don't kill him yet guys we'll let the kages decide if he should die," said the kunoichi non-chalantly.

Everyone relaxed except Sakura who suddenly disappeared in a flash. She appeared in front of her former team mate who looked at her in shock as she punched him hard in the face.

Sasuke flew and landed on his back. He sat up rubbing his cheek, "You bitch what was that for?" he asked angrily.

"Sakura-chan…" started Naruto flabbergasted by his team mates actions. Kou began to laugh as she heard Sasuke's body hit the floor.

Daichi had walked over to his student by this point and looked on with interest, while Sai smirked as he sat on the floor and Kakashi followed suit shaking his head, "Here we go."

"That was for trying to kill me you fucking bastard!" Screamed the pink haired kunoichi.

"Not the annoying fan girl anymore are you?" said Sasuke as he stood.

Kou could feel the steam coming from Sakura's ears across the room as her fellow kunoichi gave out a loud battle cry and prepared to charge. Naruto quickly grabbed her and held her back.

"Sakura-chan Sasuke knows what he did was wrong. He saved Kou and me and helped us beat Madara," said Naruto trying to calm his pink haired friend.

Sasuke slowly started to back away. He had known Sakura had grown stronger and he did not know to what extent she could damage him in his current state of exhaustion. He felt maybe it had been a bad idea to come back with Naruto and Kou.

_They're not going to accept me. Not after everything I've done._

Naruto felt Sakura ease in his hold and he began to let go. To his surprise she threw herself from his grasp and hugged the Uchiha in front of her.

"You idiot… we missed you," she whispered as tears ran down her cheeks.

Naruto stood back and let the scene unfold. He felt a slight jolt of pain in his stomach in seeing Sakura wrap her arms around his comrade. He had thought for a moment he would have had a chance with the girl he had loved for so long, but it appeared her feelings had not changed. The blond turned and walked towards the group who had sprawled themselves on the floor in exhaustion. Naruto did the same and lay down with his hands behind his head and looked at the ceiling.

"Oh how touching," scoffed the blind kunoichi as she felt Sakura throw herself at Sasuke. Sai stifled a laugh.

Sasuke didn't know what to do as his former team mate hugged him. It was almost involuntary, but he felt his arms wrap around her as well as he embraced her. He had never had feelings for her the same way she had for him, but he knew this hug she gave him was not necessarily out of devotion, it was more out of relief.

"I missed you too," he whispered back.

They let go of one another and Sakura motioned for him to join them in their small circle. Kakashi stood as Sasuke walked by and drew something from his pocket. He held out his hand and revealed a leaf ninja head band, "It was your fathers. I have been carrying it around waiting for the right moment to give it to you. I figured since yours had a slash in it maybe you would want a different one."

The jonin smiled with his visible eye as Sasuke took the head band from him, "Welcome back." The two shook hands and Sasuke found himself smirking a little at his teacher.

"Thank you," he whispered as he tied the head band around his forehead. Just like old times.

When Sasuke finished tying the head banned he looked up to see all of his comrades had stood and were smiling, even Sai.

"Glad to finally meet you on terms that did not involve me trying to kill you," chuckled the artist.

Kou was the only one who had not stood and she continued to lie on the ground and turned her back to the scene. She did not have to stomach to listen as the scene unfolded. _How can they all just forgive him so quickly? He'll just betray us all…he'll betray me… I don't trust him._

The blind kunoichi thought of what her mother had said in the spirit world, "I hope you give him another chance…"

Kou couldn't do it… at least not right now.

After a moment of reveling in the reunited team seven, the group began to plan their next move. Sakura used what chakra she had left to heal everyone as best she could and everyone was bandaged to the best of her ability with what little supplies she had.

"How are we going to get the tailed beasts out of here? We can't just leave them," said the pink haired kunoichi as she finished repacking her supplies.

Everyone looked to Daichi and Kou. The old monk pondered the question a minute and closed his eyes in thought. "All of us put together should be able to seal them in a scroll I had made for just such an occasion; the problem is the scroll cannot hold them for very long."

"That and not all of us are capable in sealing techniques," replied Sai.

"We only really need one person to do the sealing we would just need to loan some chakra," answered Kakashi. "But we are all very low in that department."

The group nodded all at once. There was definitely risk involved in sealing the beasts with everyone so exhausted. They could die from chakra depletion if they were not exact in what they gave. There was also the problem of getting the scroll back to base camp quickly which would be impossible if they all gave up their chakra.

Everyone sat in deep thought silently until Kou spoke up, "Naruto do you have enough chakra to summon a toad that can move quickly to base camp?"

"Yeah I think so, but I wouldn't be able to contribute to sealing away the beasts," replied the blond.

Kakashi looked up in realization of what the blind kunoichi was thinking, "I can summon one of my dogs, and have enough left over. I didn't fight Kabumaru for too long."

The jonin went through hand signs and summoned Pakkun who saluted his master upon arrival, "What can I do for ya Kakashi?"

"Take this scroll that we are about to seal the tailed beasts in to Lade Tsunade as fast as you can," ordered Kakshi as he turned toward the tree that currently contained the beasts. "If you aren't fast enough they'll probably break the seal and eat you."

"Well gee-thanks Kakashi. What a wonderful mission!" replied the nin-dog with sarcasm.

Kou stood next and said "I'll seal the bastards; I just need an extra boost."

All of the ninja stood prepared to do what was necessary to complete the mission. The risk was great but they couldn't just leave the tailed beast laying around for anyone to steal.

Kou took the scroll from her master and walked over to the tree and rolled out the parchment on the ground. "Ready?" she asked as the created a semi-circle around her.

"Kou you don't…" began Sasuke but he was silenced by the blind kunoichi who raised her hand in his direction.

"Shut up spoiled stuff like this just comes with the job. You need to focus on not giving too much chakra and killing yourself."

The Uchiha smirked, "Oh you do care." He replied sarcastically. Naruto laughed and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I would just rather see the Raikage tear you in half that's all," said Kou with a humph as she crossed her arms and raised her face to the ceiling.

"Knock it off you guys let's get this done," intervened Kakashi. "Remember don't give her too much chakra you could kill yourself and the Spirit Guardian, which will lead to a nightmare of paper work for me."

They all laughed a little at the joke and finally began to take their stances. Each ninja summoned chakra to their hands.

"Now!" ordered Kou as her eyes glowed and her tattoo sprawled across her arms and legs. Each of her comrades shot their chakra at the kunoichi and silently prayed this all worked.

"Seal!" cried the Spirit Guardian as she slammed her hands down onto the scroll. Seven giant orbs of light shot from the tree and disappeared into the scroll creating black inked circles of symbols.

As the light receded the scroll rolled shut and everyone was thrown onto their backs. Pakkun ran and grabbed the scroll in his mouth. He immediately took off towards the base camp as fast as he could.

"Everyone alive?" asked Daichi as he sat up shakily.

Groans resonated from each ninja in response as they too sat up from their fall. Naruto gave a smile and thumbs up to everyone and they all began to laugh.

After regaining some strength the ninja had decided to make camp. The group was slowly weaving their way through the corridors of the hidden compound. Sasuke was leading the way to the sleeping area that could fit everyone comfortably. The hide out was creepy, but sleeping in a real bed sounded appealing to all involved.

It was taking longer than usual for the group to move. They were all exhausted and dragged along, with each step taking more effort than the last. Naruto wasn't helping with his complaining.

"Teme why aren't we there yet?" whined the blond.

"What are you four?" replied Kou rolling her eyes.

Sakura raised her fist to hit her team mate but let it fall to her side, "I don't have the energy to beat the shit out of you baka," she sighed.

"It's just a couple more feet," answered the Uchiha. He smirked and turned to look behind him at his best friend, "Would you like me to carry you?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks and shook his head violently, "No no no ew!"

Sasuke turned back forward and chuckled to himself. He stopped after seeing that they had reached their destination. The doors to the rooms began and stretched from their current spot through the darkness. Torches were the only source of light in the compound.

"We're here. Both sides have beds and bathrooms. The water should still be working," said the Uchiha calmly. The group members took off claiming a room for themselves.

Daichi took his time and walked slowly past Sasuke, "I expect you will stay in your room for the remainder of the evening." The monk's voice was calm, but Sasuke could hear the threat.

"Hn," was the only response he could give.

Daichi walked a little further turned and took the room across from Kou's. Sasuke stood alone in the hallway and sighed. _Can't make any promises_. He had to talk to her and he had no idea what to expect. He was hoping she would be too weak to completely tear his head off, but he had no doubt that the kunoichi would risk her own death if it meant causing him as much physical pain as possible. He smiled to himself at the image and entered his room.

The hot water streamed down her body and felt more amazing than usual. She didn't have water type chakra but for a moment she felt completely connected to the soothing stream that erupted from the shower head.

Kou had probably been in the shower for over an hour and felt her hands and feet prune, but she did not care. She reached over and touched her back where her tattoo was and felt the scar she had received from the most recent events.

"What's a ninja without some battle scars?" she said to herself with a laugh.

Suddenly she felt a footstep enter her room and heard the door make a soft creek. She quickly reached for her towel and stepped onto the tile floor to get a better idea of who was entering her room. She growled, "That spoiled brat."

Sasuke entered her room cautiously and activated his sharingan to check for traps. He wouldn't put it past the blind kunoichi for being overly cautious. He detected nothing to his surprise and made his way over to her bed. The bedrooms in the Akatsuki hide out were plain with the rock from the cave exposed on all the walls and ceiling. Small lamps were located on a table next to the bed, which did not have the comforts of a five star hotel, but was better than a sleeping mat. It all reminded him of his time with Orochimaru and he realized he had never been exposed to anything but the simplest of necessities for years, except when he had been to the monk village.

He waited for Kou to enter the room and prepared to dodge any projectile she threw his way. Although he couldn't make any promises that he would actually evade it, he was exhausted and felt himself almost falling asleep sitting on her bed. She'd kill him if he did that and the thought of such a violent end made him straighten up.

The door to the bathroom cracked and Kou's face peaked from the side. "Toss me the robe lying on the bed," she ordered quietly.

He followed the instruction and she disappeared again briefly. She re-entered the room robed and drying her head with the towel.

"Shit that's right…old habit," she said with a hint of bitterness as she dropped the towel onto the floor. She had remembered she had no hair to dry.

She stood in front of the Uchiha with her hands on her hips, obviously annoyed at his intrusion. "What do you want spoiled bastard, because personally I want to sleep and you quite frankly have no business…"

She didn't get to finish her rant he had moved with speed she had not anticipated. His lips were on hers and sealed her mouth from speaking. She, in her infinite wisdom, closed her eyes and let the kiss consume her. They only parted for air and Kou mentally smacked herself.

She stomped her foot and a small rock shot up from the floor. It launched against the wall leaving a small crack. Sasuke smirked.

"I hate you! I hate you for everything and I will never stop hating you!" She yelled as the tears began to stream down her face. Her frustration had finally peaked and everything that had happened in the past few days began to hit her.

She began hitting his chest and sobbing while he slowly wrapped his arms around her. Before he could fully embrace her she blocked his arms away and jumped backwards. "Don't touch me!" she screamed. She didn't care if she woke everyone up, although she doubted anyone could hear her with these rock walls. She also assumed the rest of the group was unconscious with sleep.

"Kou…" he whispered trying to calm her, while also trying to keep his temper. He was getting frustrated with her lack of understanding. Although he realized he had never fully explained himself to her.

"No don't 'Kou' me! Don't treat me like a child!"

"Don't act like one then," he replied coolly.

She could hear his frustration mounting in his voice and she didn't care. She wanted him to get a little taste of how she felt. There was a silent pause as she whipped her tears and he tried to take a step towards her.

"No! Do not come near me and don't try to tell me how you did it all for me and blah blah blah," she said as she made a talking motion with her hand. "You did it for yourself because you knew you were just a tool to that fucking monster. You realized it and you wanted me and Naruto to help you destroy him. Well it worked and now you'll leave in the morning without so much as a thank you! Because that's what you do you betray people you break every single bond you have just so you can fulfill your selfish, avenging, conquest."

He blinked in surprise and she felt the mood in the room change. She was hitting a chord with him and she knew she had his attention.

"Well guess what Sasuke Uchiha there's no one left to avenge! There's no one left to destroy so now what do you do! Huh!"

Kou ended her tirade pointing at him furiously. And he had to admit he had no idea how to answer. She was right he had done a lot for selfish reasons and she was also right that there was no one left. He had avenged his family and his brother. He had also broken every bond he had ever had and was not entirely sure any of them could be fully repaired. He stood shocked and in disbelief.

"I don't know." He whispered

Kou was surprised at his response. She had expected a smart ass comment. She truly had flustered him, an Uchiha. How did she do this to him?

Sasuke turned and made his way to the door. As he reached for the handle he paused, "I'm sorry… and thank you… for helping me."

His voice could barley be heard but with her sensitive hearing she listened to every word and the emotion in his voice as he walked out the door and closed it lightly behind him.

After a moment of digesting what had just happened the blind kunoichi shook herself from her thoughts. "What the hell am I thinking?" said Kou as she smacked her forehead. She walked to her bed and laid down frustrated with her actions. She had always been taught to remain so collected and calm and yet he brought out the worst in her…or was it the best?

She made herself comfortable and nestled onto her side. "Fuck… I'm still in love with him," she whispered to herself.

Sasuke meanwhile crossed the hallway to his room. He closed the door lightly so not to wake anyone and made his way to the bed. He jumped in onto his stomach and rolled onto his back looking at the ceiling. A single tear left his eye and fell to the floor. "I hate her. I hate it when she's right," he said to himself bitterly. _I don't hate her… I'm just a moron. But she is right about one thing I have no idea what to do about tomorrow. Maybe I should just pick up and run for it._

After pondering this idea for a moment Sasuke closed his eyes and smirked, "An Uchiha doesn't run." He would face whatever came his way even if it was death. He would stick it out and try and rebuild his broken bonds, because he had found he was truly at his most powerful when he felt the most powerful emotion… love.


	20. Chapter 20

_The final chapter! No worries though I do plan on creating a sequel! We gotta see what happens to Kou and Sasuke right? Anyway I don't own Naruto and if you've seen the latest anime I have to say this has been some of the best animation Kishi's ever done. On with the story!_

Fireworks exploded above the allied camp and lit the dark night with colorful sparks and flames. Kou couldn't see any of it and felt a slight bitterness at never getting to witness anything beautiful. The sound of the explosions and the heat from the sparks were all she could enjoy as she sat atop a cliff overlooking the entire scene.

It had taken their group three days to return to the base camp on a journey that should normally have taken them less than a day. They had to stop frequently for breaks and were in no condition to go full speed. Sai and Daichi were the slowest of the group and received the most medical attention once they had returned. Her master had sworn that this was his last adventure and he wanted to retire officially. Kou had sat at his bed side and laughed at his unusually youthful antics.

_Flashback_

"I'm too old for these crazy adventures with you anymore," chuckled the old monk as Kou appeared to stare out the window next to his hospital bed. He knew she just liked the warmth from the sun on her face.

"I've been saying that for years you old bastard," she turned and smiled. Both recaped of all that had happened recently, and Kou still found it odd that her master had blown someone up.

"That thing almost doesn't count as a person Master Daichi. He was so mutated and weird looking," replied the blind kunoichi as her teacher seemed to regret his killing method.

"All life is sacred. If it has a heart beat it has a purpose," lectured the earth monk.

"Yeah yeah sure… crazy old man," said Kou as she whispered the last part under her breath.

Daichi didn't seem to care that his student was openly disrespecting him. Normally he'd find some sort of training to punish her but it had never really worked in the past, and he found himself too tired to actually implement any form of abuse.

He stared for a moment at the scarf that was now wrapped the kunoichi's head to hide her baldness and chuckled, "Now you'll really fit in with the village."

Kou shot him a glare and touched her hand to her head. Daichi reached out calmly and caught her wrist turning serious, "I'm sorry. I know it's a sore subject. You could always learn how to perform a henge from Tsunade."

His student seemed to ponder the thought as he released his grip from her wrist. "Nah its ok it will grow back eventually. I'd rather not get into Lady Tsunade's habits of hiding who I really am."

"Now I can actually say you've listened to my teachings."

Kou smirked and turned to face the window once again, "Yeah I guess I picked up on a few things."

She was hiding something behind her sarcasm and humor. She had always done this even when she was a child and her master knew just what was bringing on this wall, "The trial is today."

Kou turned her head towards him and he knew she was truly attempting to stare him in the eye. He was used to her eyes never quite making contact with his own no matter how hard she tried to seem normal.

"I hope they kill him. Then this nightmare will be over," was her cold response before she went back to sunning her face.

"What have I told you about lying to others and to yourself," replied the monk sternly. This wall of hers was slowly faltering and he planned to knock it down for her sake. The more she tried to hide these deep emotions the more torn apart she would be.

"Oh c'mon just a couple months ago you were threatening to kill him!" snapped the blind kunoichi.

"That was for your safety," Daichi began with a raised voice but took a deep breath and calmed himself. "You can't keep this act up. Not when you truly care for him. Besides the boy had a hand in saving us all, and yes he used you and yes you were hurt, but we are all here right now because of his actions." The old monk paused and chose his next words carefully, "I truly believe between you, Itachi and Naruto… well you saved him from a very dark fate."

There was silence between them as Kou absorbed the truth in what he was saying. Sasuke's plan had worked and despite losing her hair and almost losing her life they were all alive. Didn't that count for something? She rose and turned from her master.

"Kou I've been thinking about whether you really need to return to the Gate Village or not," he began solemnly. She paused and turned her head a little towards his direction. "It's your choice… but I think if you wanted to return to the Leaf Village Tsunade would love to have you as a shinobi. After all you were technically born to the Leaf."

She gave him a nod and turned to walk out the door. As she exited Daichi sighed and stared at the same window she had just been facing. "I can't protect you any longer and I'm not sure I have much left to teach," he whispered to himself.

_End Flashback_

Kou continued to listen to the fireworks as she thought about what her sensei had said to her that day. "I am getting tired of being the only girl in that damn village," she remarked to herself. She pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"But he'll be there…"

_Flashback_

As Kou walked from the make shift hospital wing she absorbed the sounds and smells of the camp. The sensations were much different than when she had first arrived. The wounded had been patched up for the most part, which she was thankful for because their screaming had started to drive her insane. There were still faint traces of blood that she smelled throughout the area but it was nowhere near as bad as before.

The dead had been wrapped in some sort of sheet and placed in tents with labels of their villages. She had gone over to the Hidden Leaf's tent where their dead were being kept for transportation back home. Sakura and Naruto had made a beeline for it once they arrived and had been informed as to the number of casualties. The death toll had been enormous with thousands still missing. Kou had slowly followed them to make sure they were ok. The smell of the dead bodies had made her nauseated but she remained stoic upon entering the tent. To her relief and the relief of her comrades no one they knew personally had been killed in the fighting.

Kou continued to walk along and noticed she was about the pass the small prison tent that was constructed for Sasuke Uchiha. She stopped and could feel his chakra which was mostly restrained through his bindings. She knew he had enough to probably brake through the shackles and found it interesting he was behaving so well. Before she could think too much about the boy she found herself quickly moving on to find a place to meditate.

The cliff seemed perfect. She could hide out from the celebrations and keep to herself for the time being to think over where she wanted to call home from now on. The sun was beginning to set and she heard the sounds of thousands of shinobi pouring out into the camp laughing, drinking, dancing and in some cases she could hear hugs and kisses being exchanged. Some might find such a swell of the senses overwhelming but Kou found it exciting to hear the victory party pan out.

They had won the war and the allied nations seemed to be holding true to the hope of a peaceful truce between the large ninja villages. As she breathed deeply in the kunoichi sat onto the ground and exhaled as she took her meditating posture.

The peaceful moment was brief as her favorite blond came pounding through the woods in her direction. "How'd you find me asshole," grumbled Kou as she knew her quiet moment was over.

Naruto emerged from the forest and smiled at his blind friend who had her back facing him, "Sage mode blind bat. Even with what little chakra you have I could find you."

"Shut up dick face I would have more chakra if I didn't have to save your ass all the time."

"Oooo nice one you stole that insult from Sai," replied the blind with a laugh as he sat down next to Kou. He pulled one leg towards him with his knee facing up and let the other stretch out. He let a hand rest on his knee and leaned back a little onto the other. "So not gonna celebrate with everyone?"

"I was going to make my way down eventually," she lied.

"Don't be such an anti-social bitch it'll make your hair grow back slower," grinned the jinchuriki.

Kou used her fingers to command a pebble into the air and threw it at Naruto. After rubbing the sore spot on his head and cursing under his breath the blond turned to her, "Alright, alright, no more bald jokes."

After nodding in appreciation the kunoichi spoke, "What do you want anyway? Shouldn't you be down there celebrating Mr. Hero?"

"You're a hero too ya know."

"Yeah well maybe I don't feel like we should be celebrating when so many people died," she said turning her face away from him

He didn't have an answer to her grumpy statement, which he had to admit was sort of eye opening. None of his friends had died but a lot of fathers, mothers, children, siblings and other peoples friends had. "They knew what they were dying for and everyone would have died if they didn't fight… it could have been…"

"Don't say it could have been worse Naruto!" she snapped glaring in his direction.

Unlike Daichi he was not used to the fact that she could never make eye contact with people she was talking to. It offset him a little when they conversed despite their close friendship.

"I feel the same way you do. Why couldn't we save more of them? And the truth is I don't have an answer and if we think about it for too long we'll drive ourselves insane. The fact is we saved as many as we could, we beat Madara, and won the war," he replied calmly.

She let her face relax and looked toward the ground with a slight smirk, "Since when are you all wise?"

This made Naruto laugh and soon they both wound up laughing. He was contagious and she found herself feeling a little better.

After settling down Naruto looked out over the horizon at the sunset, "I know you can't see it but it's beautiful."

Kou turned her face towards the direction of the sun as it gave off what little heat it had left, "I remember what they look like. My mother and I watched a lot of sunsets."

There was another pause as the sun fell to the west and the night sky began to consume the atmosphere. Naruto turned toward the kunoichi, "The verdict was to let Granny Tsunade deal with him. She sentenced him to two years in prison, but if he's good then the last year can be spent under house arrest. He's on probation for a year after that. He'll be all pissed about being stuck in one place, but at least they didn't kill him."

Kou took in this statement and thought about what this would mean if she lived in the Leaf Village… she would almost certainly have to see Sasuke again. "What about after the probation? Is he allowed to be a ninja again?"

"Awww you do care…" began the blond but stopped after seeing another pebble rise over her shoulder. "I mean… I don't know I'm guessing that's her line of thinking is to reinstate him back into our shinobi forces. We lost so many he'll be really important to have back."

Kou nodded at this response and turned to where the sun had been setting, "I'm not ready to see him and I don't know when I will be."

The jinchuriki stood and brushed himself off, "I figured as much. By the way we'd love to have you live in the Leaf Village. Tsunade told me she was going to make an offer to you, and your old man said it was up to you."

"I'll think about it."

Naruto knew he had pushed her enough and began to walk back towards the woods to join in the celebration. Before he left his blind friend spoke up, "I don't want to live alone I hate the silence."

He smiled, "I think we can work something out." With that he left her to be by herself.

_End Flashback_

The fire works had ended and the crickets had begun their song. The air was getting colder and Kou knew it would be time to return to the camp soon. She shivered as a slight breeze blew across her skin.

"Well I guess I better head down and meet my new Leaf comrades," she sighed as she stood to leave her solitude.

She knew it was time to return to her mother's home, her birthplace, and the place where she knew she could learn more and become even stronger. As she began to walk into the woods she thought about her future training. _Just because the war is over and Madara is gone doesn't mean there aren't other threats, _she thought to herself. _And besides when Sasuke is released there is something I want to do… I need to do… I need to fight him._

She had made it back to camp a few minutes later and located Naruto and his friends at a makeshift bar that had been set up for the celebration. Naruto was of course the center of attention as he retold the fight that had taken place against Madara.

He rambled on excitedly, "Then the blind bat…"

"Her name is Kou you idiot and she's the Spirit Guardian so why don't you show her some respect!" yelled Sakura as she knocked the blond on the head.

Kou shook her head at the scene unfolding in front of her and confirmed she really did want to live in the Leaf Village. The chaos would be loud and very different from her home, but it would be more interesting that's for sure.

Naruto had regained his composure and continued on with the story. "As I was saying I was kicking some major ass while the… I mean Kou is standing around like an idiot with teme sticking his tongue down her throat…"

This statement elicits a chuckle from many of the guys sitting at the long table while most of the kunoichi glare at Naruto.

Kou had just about heard enough and was going to barge in and tell the real story before she felt a hand on her shoulder. It took her a moment to register who had stopped her because she had never actually met the fifth hokage in person.

The strong grip had been a good indication then she recognized the voice from hearing conversations in the hospital hallways. "Lady Kou I think you and I need to have a chat." The voice was sweet but the blind kunoichi knew this was an order.

They stepped away from the bar entrance and walked a few feet into the night. When no one was around to overhear the conversation Tsunade stopped and turned to the Spirit Guardian.

"Mast Daichi told me he spoke to you about living in the Village Hidden in the Leaves," she began with a business like tone.

Kou nodded and paused to make sure the hokage didn't have more to say. After a moment of silence she gave an answer, "I would like to become a Leaf shinobi my lady."

Tsunade who was so used to Naruto calling her grandma was taken aback by Kou's formality. She had been wrong to assume a friend of the blond's would be just as obnoxious as he was.

"We would love to have you. I think we can assume that after defeating a ninja of Madara's caliber that you do not need to take the chuunin exam."

Kou laughed a little, "Thank you."

Tsunade gave a smile, "Unfortunately I can't just up and make you and Naruto Jonin. You'll still have to take that exam, although I don't think you'll have much of a problem passing if the idiot, my apprentice and you are teamed up."

The blind kunoichi thought about this for a minute, "What about Sai?"

"Sai will be joining Lee and Ten Ten… you'll meet them later. I think he's adaptable enough to change teams again. The exams won't be held for a while because of the reconstruction, but I think the Konoha eleven will pass with flying colors."

Kou remembered Naruto saying a boy named Neji from their group was already a Jonin, which meant Tsunade was including her in the group. This brought about a weird feeling in her stomach. She had never truly belonged to a village, in fact she had never felt she truly belonged anywhere.

Tsunade noticed this statement had brought about some mixed emotions in her newest kunoichi. She felt sympathy for the girl who had never really figured out where her true home was, and the fifth hokage could relate. The blond reached into her jacket to pull out a forehead protector with the leaf symbol on it. She placed it into Kou's hand, "I know you won't let us down."

The hokage turned on her heels and left the newest ninja of Konoha to take in the news. Kou stood speechless as she touched the headband and lifted it to her nose. It had her mother's scent. "Thank you," she whispered to herself, and tied the fabric around her neck.

She walked toward the bar where she could hear Naruto still telling his exciting story. She leaned to the side on the frame of the entrance and crossed her arms. She smiled, _Looks like I'll be going home tomorrow… my real home._

"Hey mother goose you're telling the story wrong, because I distinctly remember you getting your ass kicked by that old hag!"

Naruto went quiet and looked up as his friends turned around to see where the voice had come from. He quickly noticed the Leaf symbol around her neck and smiled, "You're a blind bat how the hell are you going to be able to tell the story. You didn't see anything!"

"NARUTO!" screamed the pink cherry blossom to his right as she threatened to hit him again. After getting the satisfaction of seeing her team mate cower in fear Sakura looked back up at Kou, "C'mon in Kou I'm sure the truth will finally be revealed if you help this idiot tell it right."

Kou walked toward the table as her new Konoha comrades made room for the Spirit Guardian. She sat down next to Sakura and leaned towards the middle of the table so everyone could see her, "What this idiot forgot to tell you was that Madara was throwing him around like a rag doll…"

Daichi watched the scene unfold from another entrance on the opposite side of the bar and whispered under his breath, "Hopefully you will finally find peace, love and happiness my dear."

_So there it is the first installment of Dancing Spirits! Hope you all enjoyed and thank you for sticking with me as I wrote this story. Stay tuned for things to come!_


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